Road to Misaki
by MisakiHatake99
Summary: Misaki, a kunoichi of Konoha, is dragged into the Limited Tsukuyomi, a parallel world created by Madara Uchiha. However, once there, she has no recollection of who she is or anything regarding her past. She encounters a group of mercenaries called the Akatsuki who kidnap her and force her to join them. Itachi Uchiha, works on her training. Will she be able to recover her memories?
1. Chapter 1

_I've been working on the second part of 'Misaki of the Leaf' but this short story keeps running around in my mind so I've decided to write it first while it's still fresh._

 _Misaki (the OC introduced on my first story) is sent to the Limited Tsukoyomi but she forgets everything, including what the shinobi world is, so there are a few explanations of the basics that I know you guys don't need. This is because some of my friends have asked to read my stories and they haven't seen Naruto (yet!). Hence, I've tried to write the story so even a non Naruto fan can follow what's happening. Please bear with me!_

 _For those who haven't seen Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, please be aware that they might be_ _ **SPOILERS**_ _!_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

 _"Why did I volunteer to look for medicinal plants on my first day off in two weeks…"_

That was the thought in Misaki's mind as she walked through the Nara forest in the outskirts of Konoha. The rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing so strong that her raincoat hood kept flying back. The heavy rain was making it hard to spot the Megusurosi plant she was assigned to gather because the hospital had already used up all their stock.

Two weeks had passed after the attack on the village by Pain, one of the Akatsuki members, where most of the village had been destroyed and the hospital had been flooded by thousands of injured shinobi. While she had been assigned to work on the reconstruction of village, she didn't want to laze around at home and rest as Lady Tsunade, the Hokage, had instructed her to so. Before she knew what she was doing, she was walking to the Hokage's office in her casual clothes and asked her to give her another thing to do, something that didn't require too much energy. Tsunade had quickly obtained permission from Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan, for her to enter their land as non clan members were off limits to gather the plants that were essential for the recovery of eye injuries.

And so, she found herself in this forest, under a large tree trying to take cover from the rain. She tilted her head as she look to her left. There was a cliff that somehow seemed familiar to her but before she could think anything further she squinted her eyes at something near the edge of that cliff. She had spotted the plant she was after. Forgetting the rain, she run closer and hold the side of her coat up so it would cover the plant with rounded green leaves and flowers with tiny purplish petals. However, it was the root of the plan that had the ingredients used for medicinal purposes so she carefully digged it out.

Mission accomplished! She thought while placing the roots in a clear plastic bag.

Misaki suddenly felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up but before she managed to turn and look for the reason she felt on alert, she got hit by a force from behind that pushed her over the edge of the cliff. As she was quickly falling down towards the river she realised that she was surrounded by an energy sphere that restricted her movements that would allow her to save her life by summoning her contracted eagle since she didn't have any tools with her.

She tried fighting against it but she wasn't able to move a single muscle. Not like this, I cannot die like this… She thought closing her eyes just as she was going to reach the rocky river several hundred of meters below the cliff.

* * *

She opened her eyes and found herself laying down on a ground made of smooth and rounded rocks. As she looked up, the sun was shining and the bright light made her eyes hurt, forcing them to close again. Trying to remember how she got there made the pain spread to the rest of her head.

"Are you alright, young lady?" she heard a man ask. Opening one of her eyes, she glanced to the side to see a man in his fifties with grey hair, a beard and a frown on his face.

"Y- Yes, I think so." She answered as she stood up awkwardly. Her clothes were wet and clinging to her body but except for the headache she didn't seem to have any injuries. Looking around she could see they were next to a river surrounded by forest on both sides.

"Where are we?" she asked the man.

"We're just outside the Takumi Village."

"Takumi?" she asked confused. The name was unfamiliar.

"In the Land of Rivers?" the man said concerned. "What is your name?"

"My name? I…" she tried to answer but her mind was blank. "I don't remember… hmm, how did I get here?"

Letting out a sigh, the man placed a hand on her back. "I'm not sure but you don't look so good. You might have gotten a contusion. Let me get you to my house, my wife has medical knowledge so she'll be able to help you. There had been some attacks by a group of mercenaries in the area so it's not safe for us to stay here at the moment."

"Ok, thank you for your kindness." She told the friendly man.

They moved alongside the river before turning to their right into the forest where they walked for an hour in silence. The man kept glancing at her every ten minutes or so while she kept trying to remember something, anything.

"Don't overstress yourself. Let's get some food into you and then I'm sure you'll be able to recover your memories." The man said with a smile on his face.

They reached a small wooden house surrounded by trees where a old lady was opening the door. She heard them coming and turned to face them. "Hachiro, you're back early. And who is this young lady?" she asked eyeing her with worry.

"I found her by the river. She doesn't seem to remember who she is. Would you be able to have a look at her? I'm a bit worried."

"Of course, bring her in quickly. She looks so pale." The man's wife replied reaching out to her hand and bringing her inside the house where she made her sit in one of the chairs. "Let me get you some tea first before I prepare something to eat." The lady said before turning the stove on and placing a kettle on it. She quickly prepared three cups with tea leaves and then poured the boiling water on them.

"There" she gave one to her and another to her husband before taking the last for herself and sitting in the chair in front of her. "My name is Kana. Now, tell me. What can you remember?"

"I only remember opening my eyes by the river before your husband asked me if I was alright." She answered simply.

"I see. Is it ok if I place my hands over your head?"

"W- Why?" she asked confused by the question.

"I used to be a medical ninja in the past. By placing my hands over you I can apply my medical ninjutsu and check for any injuries."

"Nin-jutsu?" she breathed the alien word. The kind look the old lady was giving her put her at ease so she lowered her head to let her do whatever she needed to. She hoped it didn't hurt.

She felt her hands above her head before a warmth start spreading from there. Whatever it was seemed to run down her spine, her chest and then through the rest of her body. When it stopped she looked up at her.

"Physically, there's nothing wrong with you, you're organs are working fine and everything seems ok. I imagine you're suffering from some form of amnesia. It's a loss of memory that could've been caused by an injury, shock, fatigue… most of the time they're short term so all we can do at this point is wait until your memories come back."

"How long would that take?"

"There is no rule to this, it could be hours or days. But don't worry, you're young. I'm sure everything will come in no time." The lady replied. "Now, we need to find a name for you for the time being. Can we call you… Yoshie as in 'beautiful river'?"

She, Yoshie, smiled at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Two days had passed since she got to this house in the middle of the forest. All she had been doing is sleep, eat, listen to the old couple tell her about their stories and read a book about medical ninjutsu Kana had lend her and which she could hardly understand. But so far, she had been unable to remember anything about her life. Did anyone miss her? Had anyone notice her disappearance and started looking for her? Did she have anyone at all? What had she been doing before? Destiny had brought her to a group of mercenaries, had she followed this kind of life in the past or was this punishment for something she had done in the past?

Kana and Hachiro had been taking care of her as if she was their own. They didn't care that she had lost her memories, where she came from or what she had done previously. They had trusted her and let her live under the same roof, provided her with food and love while asking nothing in return. She wanted to give something back but, what?

The couple were getting ready to go to the village to gather supplies and had agreed on taking her along in the hopes that she could see something familiar to her that would trigger any memories. They had advised her not to go out by herself due to the attacks Hachiro mentioned when she first met him but they didn't want to leave her alone either.

"I'm all set." Hachiro announced. He was carrying an empty backpack to bring the supplies back. "We need to walk for about an hour through the forest before we reach the main road, make sure you stay close to us at all times. We might be old but we still have some fight in us if we are unlucky to encounter any of the mercenaries. They're mainly just make rackets or steal supplies but if we crossed them stay behind us and we'll take care of it. They're known for only killing for money but one can never be too careful."

"Isn't there anyone dealing with this issue?" she asked while putting her sandals back on.

"This is an old abandoned village. We have no government or police force taking care of the few civilians left. We're basically on our own so we have to deal with them by ourselves, I'm afraid."

They started walking through the woods, Hachiro stayed in the front while Kana walked behind her. The moved in silence and crossed the forest until she could see the small road before them, dread filling her insides at the thought of running into the mercenaries.

"Look at what we have here…" a male voice in a nasty tone said above them and her heart sank. The older pair closed in on her and adopted a defensive stance. The man was sitting on a branch and looked to be in his twenties. She could see a blue eye while the left one was covered by a blond bang while the rest was drawn into a ponytail. He was wearing a black cloak with some sort of red pattern over navy blue pants.

He jumped from the branch and landed a few metres in from of them, dragging a disgustingly looking tongue over his lips. "This is the first time I see anyone below their fifties. Such… beauty." he said, causing a shiver run down her body.

He raised his hand towards her but it was slapped away by Kana. "Don't touch her." She said in a warning tone.

"Or what, old lady?"

Hachiro step forward towards man, his hands up in a non defensive manner but his eyes were calculating. "Young man, there's no need to be hasty. We were on our way to gather supplies so we're empty handed at the moment. If you wish we can provide you with whatever you want on our way back?" he asked hoping that he would let them go.

The man waited for a couple of seconds before he let a crude laugh out of his mouth. He then turned to look at her. "Why wait? What I want is right here." He said taking one step forward without taking her eyes off her, it brought him a few inches from Hachiro. She gulped, but not for the threat that this man intended but for the energy emanating from Kana on her right, it made her body be even more alert. For a single instant, she looked over her shoulder to Kana. And in that same instant, she heard a loud noise on her left. When she began turning her head a crash sounded behind her.

In front of her, she could see the man's leg raised. It seemed he had kicked the poor Hachiro so hard that it had sent him flying back against a tree at least five metres away. Unable to move for a second, she saw Hachiro struggling to get up before she regained control of her legs and moved quickly to his side to help him. But when she grabbed his arm, Hachiro recoiled in surprise at her.

"It's me. Hachiro, can you walk?"

Hachiro didn't answer but instead he stood up and fixed his eyes on the mercenary. She followed suit, noting that Kana hadn't moved and had also her eyes on him. Knowing that there was no way for the kind pair that had welcomed her into their house, she took a step forward, blocking the line of sight from Hachiro.

"Don't hurt them. I'll go with you." She said, making him smile. This was her chance to do something for them. She will stop this man from causing them any more trouble. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

"Yoshie, don't." Kana and Hachiro said at the same time. The blond man appeared right in front of her in the space of heartbeat, making her stumble back. She didn't even see him taking a step in her direction but somehow he had close the distance between them in a blink of an eye. He grabbed her arm, calluses scraping against her skin, the sudden contact bringing a shock to her system.

"I better get hold on to you before you decide to use that speed of yours again" he told her, putting more pressure on her arm to the point it started to hurt. Adrenaline shot through her veins, it felt like a thick fluid running through her body and sharpening her senses in a welcomed way. "Oh..." she heard the man say before he eyed her with amusement.

Behind her she felt Hachiro was about to move before he did, and then he was swinging something metallic in his hand towards the man's arm, the one that wasn't holding her. At almost the same time, a spark of something green from where Kana was standing caught her attention before she started charging in their direction. Her eyes seemed to perceive the scene around her in slow motion because it gave her the time to see that the blond man was already raising his arm to block the weapon while his body was turning to meet Kana with a kick before she could even touch him.

Her body moved on its own accord as her arm raised and twisted, breaking the hold of the man before she crouched on the floor and spined with one leg extended, bringing the man towards the floor. However, before his back touched the ground he pushed himself up with one hand and still managed to kick Kana and hit Hachiro's jaw with a uppercut, the sickening noise of his fist connecting with the older man's face made her flinch. She charged at him with a series punches which he easily blocked before counterattacking with fast punches and kicks. She didn't have the time to think how was she able to block them but she was happy she could, until she heard a choked noise coming from Kana.

As she turned to look at what had caught her attention, the man landed a punch her face near her mouth, where she felt the corner of her lip break. Ignoring the pain, she focused on the spot she heard the noise coming from. She could see a strange looking man with what look like a giant scorpion tail that he was using to strangle Kana. Hachiro run towards his wife but the strange man spoke before he reached them.

"One more step and she's dead."

Hachiro stopped where he was, his body shaking from the internal struggle he was facing.

"Please, let her go." She pleaded.

"Satori, you didn't need to get involved." The blond complained to the newcomer.

"We have been summoned and it looked like you were just having fun instead of finishing this quickly. You know I don't like to wait." The man named Satori told him before letting go of Kana who fell into the floor unconscious. Hachiro quickly moved to her side protectively. "Deidara, take the girl if you want but let's be on our way." He added.

Hachiro started to stand up while looking at her but she raised her hand and moved her head from side to side. "Hachiro, don't. I can't see you two getting hurt anymore. There's no need for that. Please take Kana to get medical attention, I'll be fine. And thank you for taking care of me."

Hachiro opened his mouth to protest but several large needles suddenly flew in the old couple's direction, piercing their bodies in several places and then, Hachiro's lifeless body dropped on top of his wife's.

"Bastard! You killed them!" she yelled at him while she tried to lunge at him but Deidara grabbed her arm again and stopped her in her tracks.

Satori laughed at her. "No, I didn't. I don't do free kills. I merely put them to sleep to avoid any more interruptions."

Relief started to run through her chest until the blond threw his arm around her shoulders and brought her to him. He brought his face close to her ear, close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin. "I love a prize that is hard to get. My name is Deidara, so where are you from Yo-shie?" He said the name in a lewd tone. She tried to create some space between them but his hold was too strong for her. "Now, now. If you try to run away I'll just go back to the old couple and kill them. Is that what you want?"

She instantly stopped struggling. They had already suffer more than enough and she felt guilty for causing them so much trouble. "That's the name they gave me. I don't actually remember my name or where I'm from" she stated emotionless.

"Deidara! Let's go!" Satori yelled already moving away from there.

"Alright, alright!" he yelled back before looking back at her. "I'll deal with you later" he whispered in her ear while pushing her forward.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

They reached a mountain with a narrowed dark cave passage, the walls were wet and there was a faint sound of dripping water. With each step fear seemed to be taking over her to the point that her whole body was shaking. She didn't know what was in store for her but whatever it was she was sure it wouldn't be good.

The passage opened up into a large space with giant stalactites and the bat roosts where four men were waiting, they were standing in pairs and were dressed in the same robes as Deidara. The first pair closer to the entrance consisted in a man with orange hair and purple eyes with a series of circles. Next to him was a tall woman with purple short hair and amber eyes. The other pair consisted in one scary looking man with no eyebrows and a cross shaped scar on his right cheek and red markings covering his jaw. But it was the fourth member that caught her attention due to the intensity of the stare he was giving her. Compared to the rest of the group, he was the one that looked most normal but also the most deadly. He had black long hair pulled back on a low ponytail with bangs around his face. His eyes were dark with long tear-troughs under them that seem to bore into her.

"Deirdra, what's the meaning of this?" the dark haired guy asked. His eyes look to fire up when he eyed the bruise on her lips.

"This? This is my prize for today. Don't you try and take it from me again, Itachi." Deidara answered while running his hand up and down her arm, she flinched.

Itachi chucked. "It's not my fault if girls become infatuated with me. I never take anything from you, they come to me."

"Well, you won't get her. This one is special, she doesn't even know who she is."

"Excuse me?" Itachi asked.

"I found her with a pair of old retired ninja. She had some skills but she doesn't know what village she belongs to. I'm not sure she's even a ninja."

"Is that so?" Itachi walked towards them. "Let her with me, I'll gather the intel."

"Let her with you? Are you crazy? No way in hell, back off!" Deidara pushed Itachi back as he had closed the distance between them but he barely managed to move him a couple of inches.

"Deidara." The orange hair man started. "Civilians are allowed here but she could be a ninja trying to infiltrate and gather information. You should know better. Let Itachi work on her."

Deidara gritted her teeth. That man seemed to be the leader since it was the only person he hadn't back talked to. He glared at Itachi but then let go of her.

Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder and in an instant she found herself standing in the center of a completely different room, alone with him. She looked around confused. The room was smaller, the ceilings lower with a small opening that let the light in. A lone chair on one of the corners was the only furniture there. "How did you…?" she began to ask as he moved two steps back and she felt a shiver running through her spine. What did the other man mean with 'work on her'? Her whole body was frozen but her head seemed to twitch in trepidation.

"What do you want from me?" she asked looking away.

"Look at me" he commanded. She turned her head with difficulty and look straight into his onyx eyes, they widened when they made contact with hers. "What's your name?" he asked in a soft voice. Somehow, the feeling of dread had suddenly left her body.

"I can't recall. An old man found me by the river two days ago. I haven't been able to recover my memories back so far." She answered looking down.

Itachi closed the distance and touched her chin, pushing it up with a finger so she could look at him again. When she did, she found him giving her a crooked smile. It was sexy yet alarming and the sight of it made her heart hammer inside her chest, her breathing becoming erratic. She gulped, an action that he didn't miss as his eyes lowered to follow the movement before his mouth covered hers. Startled by the suddenness of the kiss she gasped, an opportunity he took to invade her mouth with his tongue and when it made contact with hers, her eyes drifted closed.

He was claiming her in a passionate kiss while his arms snaked from under hers onto her back and brought her body close to his. Her body responded with total submission- mouth open, body limp, hands running along his shoulders to fist his hair. All her senses were heightened and it was driving her crazy. His scent, his warm body against hers, the sound of longing in the back of his throat. She couldn't remember her first kiss but, as first kisses go, this was something else.

And then her body tensed. She'd just met the man, what the hell was she doing? She tried pulling away but her body didn't respond for the longest two seconds before her mind seemed to regain control of her body. She opened her eyes but couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Itachi was in the same spot he was moments ago and her arms, which were raised a second ago were down, her head was supposed to be titled due to their height difference but it seemed like she never moved from her position since the second she arrived to this room. The only thing that had changed was her uneven breathing.

"What- what was that?" she asked alarmed. Had she just been dreaming? Was that some kind of magic trick? He returned the question with another smile, it was unnerving.

"It took you long enough to break out of my genjutsu…" she stood there looking at him, hoping to get a bit more of an explanation for that while he seemed to consider his next step. "... or are you just pretending? Did you honestly want to make me believe that you didn't notice my jutsu? Did you really want us to believe you're a simple civilian?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know what a jutsu is!" she ended up yelling frustrated. Itachi chuckled. The slight movement of one of his arms caught her attention but before she could lower her eyes Itachi was charging at her. As her eyes widened and her brain screamed at her to move, her body was faster and was already dodging Itachi's first kunai swing by jumping back. However, by the time her feet touched the ground, Itachi was already on her again, his weapon aimed at her chest. A surge of power concentrated in her hand and a electrical discharge appeared there in the form of a spear, blocking his attack. She swung the makeshift sword at him, thinking that he would easily dodge it but it managed to slice his body diagonally. Nonetheless, his body dissolved into many black crowds.

"Impressive." Itachi voiced, now from the other side of the room. "You can't seem to hide your shinobi skills."

"Hide? I don't even know how I did that!" she said while watching the sword disappeared from her hand.

"I'm going to look into your mind now." He told her.

"Look into my mind? What are you talking about?" she glared at him but gasped at the sight of his eyes. They had turned red with some kind of pattern in them. Before she could say another word, she felt a pressure in her mind that moved around with no control. It hurt, it hurt a lot. It felt like a knife was rummaging inside the insides of her brain. Grabbing the hairs around her temples she dropped onto her knees, she felt exhausted, her breathing uneven, like she had run for hours but his action took only mere seconds.

Surprisingly, Itachi also seemed in pain because he was pressing the palm of his hand into one of his eyes.

"What… did you do... to me?" she asked him in between gasps.

"I used a technique to enter your subconscious and read your mind but it seems everything had been damaged and thus, making your memories disappear. There's no even knowledge left of what the shinobi world means which explains how you're unaware of what a genjutsu is." Itachi answer after catching his breath.

"It's all… gone?" She would worry about the jutsu stuff later.

"It seems so. You were really saying the truth, you don't remember who you are or what you are. There's nothing from your past in your mind." He replied and when he looked at her his face was relaxed, it had softened and there was a hint of… was that hope? "Nevertheless, your body along with your chakra still remembers which makes you a valuable shinobi.

She started sobbing silently while Itachi, unmoving, watched her. She wouldn't know if she had friends or family that cared for her or loved her, and if she did, she might never be able to find them because she wouldn't even know where to start looking. Has she even known what love was? She could've spent her life alone until this point. She would never know. But she cried, because there was a throbbing pain in her heart.

After a few moments a handkerchief appeared in her line of vision. "There's no need to cry. You still have your fighting skills, you're very powerful." Itachi told her.

"And what good does that do to me? I've been kidnapped by a group of mercenaries, who want to use me and dispose of me afterwards, with the threat of killing the only two people I can remember meeting in my whole life if I try to run away. So what if I'm strong? You will use my strength to your own benefit!" She said angrily.

"That's not what we're about."

"So what then?"

"Money. We work for money. We do the dirty jobs that governments aren't able to do by themselves to keep peace." Itachi replied. "There's nowhere for you to go at the moment, might as well stick with us." He added.

"Do I even have a choice?"

The silence and the way Itachi set his lips to a firm line was the only answer she got.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry for all the basic info on chakra or jutsu explained her. I know most of you don't need a reminder of what it is, but like I mentioned earlier, I have a few friends following this story and they haven't watched Naruto yet so I had to do a brief explanation. There won't be many more, don't worry!_

 _Enjoy :)_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4**

"She's telling the truth. There's no memories left in her mind." Itachi announced as they returned to the meeting area. "We should be able to use her skills, we're short of members, are we not?" He asked the man with the orange hair.

"An empty canvas! We can use her to our advantage…" Deidara exclaimed while clapping his hands together.

"The perfect puppet." Deidara's partner added with a sneer.

"Fine. As long as one of you keep an eye on her at all times for now. However small, there's still the possibility of her gaining her memories back and turning against us."

"I'll work with her," Itachi declared as Deidara was opening his mouth to probably say the same. "... for the reading of her chakra I have an idea of what she can accomplish. Her body remembers _things_ , it's just a matter of showing her the techniques she has forgotten. She'll be a good addition."

"Wait a minute!" Deidara yelled. "I brought her here, why do _you_ get to _work_ with her?" He questioned as he got into Itachi's face.

"She's a fire and water nature type. You're earth and lighting, how would you be able to show her anything?" Itachi asked him calmly, hiding the fact that she also could control lightning nature.

"I'll work on her taijutsu."

"I can manage that."

"I'm better than you." Itachi smirked at him.

"I don't understand the fuss. Are her skills even that great?" The man with the red markings asked.

"I don't believe they're fighting about that." Deidara's partner added with a chuckle.

"Yes, she definitely has potential. Right now she doesn't consciously control her chakra but I had a glimpse of her power and speed. She'll be even able to help us against the jinchuriki." Itachi responded.

"I don't think I can be of much help-" she started saying but her eyes widened when she saw that Itachi was holding a long sword on his right hand. His eyes were fixed on her. She took a step back, not liking where this was going. She didn't know how to summon the sword she used earlier again.

"There" she heard the woman with the purple hair behind her. When she turned to her, she threw a sword towards her. She automatically grabbed it by the grip, noticing that it was heavier than it looked.

"I really don't think…" she gulped, staring at the sword on her hands before looking up at Itachi's approaching form. He swung his sword at her but she moved from side to side to avoid him, her arms still lowered and holding the sword. Itachi put more pressure on her, forcing her to walk backwards until her back hit the rocky wall. "Wait, please!" She closed her eyes and pleaded when Itachi's sword was inches away from her. She felt the cold steel blade on her neck and her body started shaking. She didn't want to attack back, what if this time she could really hurt him?

"You can do better than that." Itachi whispered, low enough so only she would hear. His tone made her look up at his face, noticing that at that moment Deidara was taking the opportunity to attack Itachi from behind. Her eyes widened and Itachi's eyes followed her line of vision, however, he simply stood there watching the blond's sword advance towards him.

Something inside of her snapped and by the time she binked she found herself on Itachi's back, facing Deidara, her sword raised to block his attack. "Oh, she's quick alright. She just needed a bit more intent." A voice said somewhere in the room. Deidara was smiling at her while increasing the pressure of his sword, bringing hers dangerously close to her face. She concentrated on holding on to that energy inside her, letting it flow through her body and onto her hands holding the sword against Deidara. The blade abruptly became engulfed in flames, cutting through his sword like it was mere butter. Deidara jumped back and his face turned serious. She dropped the sword like it could burn her and the flames disappeared.

"That wasn't a chakra blade… Fire shape transformation? I've never seen anything like that." Deidara asked looking at Itachi behind her.

"Me neither." Itachi said. "But I did say she's got fire nature. She's definitely a powerful kunoichi, very few shinobi are able to control chakra to that extend."

She looked from Deidara to Itachi. "What are you talking about? And why did the sword turned into flames? What did you do to me? Nothing makes sense!"

Deidara started laughing. "Yeah, good luck teaching her all the basics. She's all yours, I don't have the patience for that." He said dropping his sword and turning to leave. The rest of the members glanced at Itachi before following suit and leaving her along with him.

"I don't know what's going on. Everything is so confusing." She said looking at her feet and letting her shoulders drop. Itachi walked to her side.

"I understand. You seemed to have forgotten all you've learned while growing up and becoming a shinobi. It takes years to to grasp everything but I will tell you about the basics and what you can do with it. Please sit down and try to keep up."

"Ok." She said with little conviction. The both sat on the floor.

"Chakra is a form of energy that runs through your body. I'm sure you've felt it inside of you. The amount of chakra depends on each individual but in your case you seem to have more control than the average. Also, each person has a different nature element, these can be fire, wind, lightning, earth and water. You have fire and lighting so what you did against Deidara before was converting your chakra into fire and expelling it through the blade. You can even go a step further and add a shape transformation like you did earlier when you used lighting release in the form of a blade against me but we won't get into that. It just proves you are an elite shinobi, very few people can accomplish that.

In a fight, most shinobi use their ninjutsu skills, which covers the ability to manipulate chakra and the use of techniques, also known as jutsus. They also combine it with their taijutsu which covers the physical abilities along with the use of weapons.

I'm going to start by showing you a few fire style jutsu through the use of hand seals. Just copy what I do and you'll be able to execute them. After that we will spar so you can get use to it. I know it's a lot to take in but this is the world we live in and you are part of it."

They went outside to the forest and Itachi proceeded to show her jutsu that created giant fireballs and fire dragons. She managed to copy it somehow. It was all mind blowing to her, the amount of power one person could do and she also felt terrified by it.

After a few goes she felt exhausted. Her body felt heavy and sweat trickled down her forehead. "I believe I've used up most of my chakra. What happens when you run out?" She asked.

"You die." He answer simply. "You need to be aware of your chakra levels and conserve enough for your organs to function. You've been wasting chakra away while performing some of the jutsu but you'll get the hang of it with practice. You can build up your chakra by eating and resting. Come on, let's eat something, you must be starving by now."

"I am…" she murmured. Her eyelids felt heavy and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She heard Itachi chuckle.

"Why am I not surprised…" she heard something along those lines before she lost her battle to stay awake and felt her body being lifted by Itachi and placed on a soft surface.

* * *

The smell of something delicious filled her nostrils, followed by the embarrassing noise of her empty stomach demanding her to wake up. She opened one eye and found Itachi observing her and she wondered how long had he been doing that. It made her feel self conscious. Embarrassed she sat up and gulp as her mouth was watering.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep."

Itachi looked down at the food placed on a trunk that was being used as a table. "Eat." He ordered in a stern tone.

She didn't have time to ponder the change in his attitude as she eyed the food. There was rice, teriyaki beef and soup. She grabbed the small cup with soup first and took a tentative sip. It tasted so good she had to hold back a moan. She grabbed some meat and rice after, the beef was so flavourful that this time she couldn't help but moan in appreciation. Her manners forgotten, she ate like her life depended on it. Itachi simply sat there and watched her eat. She hoped he had eaten before because she finished it all.

"Thanks for the food." She said sheepishly when she was done eating.

Itachi smiled at her. "I'm glad you... _enjoyed_ it." He said in a velvety voice that she felt caressing her whole body. What was with the sudden change? Itachi kept looking into her eyes in a mischievous way, like there had been some kind of joke she didn't get. Her body got hot, her breathing got faster, and all she could do was watch him.

She finally managed to break the eye contact, shaking her head slightly to clear her head. "Are you doing that spell or whatever you used before again?" He heard him chuckle.

"No. And it's called genjutsu. I was just looking at you. Why do you ask?"

"I… got hot… but I guess it was all the food." She answered before she realised how ridiculous that sounded.

"You got… hot?" Itachi asked, leaning closer her, close enough to feel the heat of his body on her already overheated skin. The invisible pressure of his gaze upon her stirred something in her chest. What was this? She quickly stood up and stepped away from him.

"Are we sparring then?" She attempted to change the subject.

"Yes, it's quite late now but let's do a quick sparring session." He said standing up and and signaling to her to get ready.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

It turned out to be a two-hour session that left her completely exhausted. Itachi was quick, very quick, and strong. At every instance he had managed to grab her from all angles. He had grabbed her from the front, holding his arm over her chest while the other pinned her wrist above her. From the back, with his arms around her torso and his body plastered against hers where she could feel every single hard muscle. Above her, tackled on the ground while he pressed with his thighs by her hips and placed his hands on each side of her face… And every single time he made a contact like that, her heart had stuttered. The only thing her mind could focus on was his closeness. The intense warmth of his soft hands yet strong against her body and the sweet scent of his body in the air around her. Each time she had been forced to take a deep, calming breath before gathering the strength to counter attack. He seemed to be playing a game she didn't like.

By the time her head hit the pillow on the bed he had prepared for her in one of the rooms, she was already fast asleep.

* * *

 _She running through a dark forest of very old trees, searching for someone in despair. Her lungs burn and her vision starts to get blurry, but she cannot stop, she must continue. The time is running out, she knows. If she doesn't get there in time…_ This is my only chance _, she tells herself._ I have to get there, I need to stop him, I can't let him go…

 _The forest starts to open up and in the distance she can see two dark figures by the edge of a cliff. The one closer to the edge is facing her direction but his face is hidden by the second person who has his back to her. The sun has set and she can't see them clearly but they are what she was looking for. She runs even faster with her hand extended in their direction. She must stop him._ There's still a chan- _She freezes on the spot as the first figure walks back and lets himself fall off the cliff._

Noooo! _She screams and drops on her knees. She has been too late. The other man starts to turn in her direction but before she's able to see his face he dissolves into many black crows that begin to fly towards her like a black cloud that's about to engulf her._

She woke up gasping, the dread of the nightmare lingering inside her. It was completely dark and for a second, she wondered if she has awaken at all. And then she felt strong arms around her, bringing her back against something hard and a cozy at the same time, soothing her fear away. She closed her eyes and her mind focused on the intense warmth of his hands pressed into the sides of her belly. The smell of his comforting scent surrounding her.

Once her breathing calmed she felt him moving and then his lips were on the nape of her neck. They were soft but firm, and she felt herself flush with warmth everywhere. His knowing fingers found their way inside her shirt, caressing her skin and trailing across the underside of her breasts. Her heart raced, her breathing speeding again and she couldn't held back a moan. He followed suit, his body body getting even closer, every part of him touching every part of her. He started placing feather kisses up and down her neck that she could feel all the way down her lower belly.

"Itachi…"

As his name left her lips her eyes suddenly opened into the darkness and her whole body tensed, coldness washing over her and fully awakening her into the fact that this man was no other than one of her kidnappers. He sensed the change and stood still as if waiting for her reaction. After a few seconds she managed to move away from him, pulling her shirt back down while she leaned on one arm.

"Wh- What are you doing?" she asked him as she turn to face him in the black room. He had been lying down next to her and she'd been unaware of that until now.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I must've been dreaming or something." He said nonchalantly, he turned his back to her and moved further away. She stared at his back for long moments before laying back down and staring at the ceiling and wondering what had just happened. Her body had betrayed her while her mind had been partially asleep. Why didn't her body recoiled from this stranger's touch? How did it provide her with comfort instead of frightening her? It was only after her brain awoke that she had felt petrified. What was going on?

Hating the way her body was longing for his touch, she laid back down and closed her eyes, listing all the hand seals she had learnt today to perform jutsu as a way of stopping herself from thinking what just happened until sleep found her.

* * *

 _Misaki_. The girl she lost years ago had somehow come back into his life. She didn't remember who she was, she didn't remember him or everything they went through during their childhood but, her body did. He had seen the way her skin reacted to his touch, how her cheeks would turn a rosy colour when his face was close to hers, how her lips parted and her pupils dilated when he gave her one of the smiles he knew she loved so much.

He hadn't believed in second chances but it seemed he had been given one. He had spent the last years bedding countless women hoping that the memories of feeling Misaki's body under him, the softness of her skin, her touch, her mouth on him… would fade away. All these women had done nothing but aggravate him further, it didn't matter what they do, they felt like empty vessels, a composition of bone, tissue and liquids that didn't provide him with any kind of satisfaction.

Some of them had looked at him in a similar way that Misaki did, with love or what they thought love was, but they all lacked the only thing she could give him: the connection he could feel between them, it was still there after all these years, it had never faded, and day after day it was there burning through his veins. When he touched her it wasn't simply a contact between skin and cells, the touch run deeper, all the way to his heart and soul. She was the only person who could reach him there. He wondered if she could feel it, she probably did but did she realise what it meant?

He will have to make her see that the love they once shared was still there. He still loved her after all these years because this kind of love never fades away. He knew that it had to be the same for her, he just needed to make her aware of that. It didn't matter that she would never remember the past, in fact, it would be best if she didn't. They would make new memories.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

 _~ Five years ago ~_

 _"Big brother! You're back!" Sasuke exclaims as soon as I enter our home. "Hey Shisui, Misaki! You guys have been gone for so long. How was the mission?"_

 _Misaki steps around me and embraces my little brother making him blush slightly. "It went well, as it always does when your big brother and Shisui are concerned."_

 _"You make it sound like you had nothing to do with our team's success rate, Misaki." Shisui says to her._

 _"Well, you guys barely leave anything for me to do. You both spoil me too much but all you're doing is keeping me at bay. At this rate I will never improve, you know?" Misaki points a finger at us. She looks so damn cute when she's upset._

 _"You're already an elite ninja, jonin at 17 is pretty impressive. Even if we tried, you'd always find a way to improve." I tell her. And it's true. She had been training with a 9-year old Shisui for a year before I met them and I already noticed that she was exceptional, she was only 6. A couple of years later I awaken my Sharingan, the Uchiha clan's visual prowess, giving me the advantage over her. However, she was never far behind even without our clan's kekkei genkai. It's funny how she thinks Shisui and me are so far ahead of her. She couldn't be more wrong._

 _Her face softens up and she approaches me. I love the way she looks at me like this, with her heart wide open. We've been running back home for the last 5 days so I've been missing gazing at her face like this. I trace the contour of her face with my thumb, feeling a tingling sensation on my fingers._

 _"Arg, there they go again…" I hear Shisui complain. I've completely forgotten we're not alone, something I tend to do as soon as our eyes meet. "Let's go and eat as many tomato rice balls as we can before they come out of their bubble" Shisui tells Sasuke, placing an arm over his shoulders and turning him to walk towards the kitchen._

 _I watch Misaki's eyes follow them, the spell broken. Damn Shisui, he knows her too well. "Did he say 'tomato rice balls'?"_

 _I chuckle at her comment, she's always had a big appetite and many 'fights' between my brother, Shisui and her have been initiated on rice balls. "Ouch. It's clear what you would choose between rice balls and me if you were given the option" I tell her on a pout._

 _Misaki places a quick kiss on my pouting lip and looks at me in the eye. "I love you, you know? But we're talking about your mom's homemade tomato rice balls!" and with that she throws her sandals to the side runs after Sasuke and Shisui._

 _Sighting, I take my time to take my sandals off. There's no need to get in between them and_ their _food, even I know better than that. Slowly, I enter the kitchen and as expected I find them three fighting. This time Misaki has teamed up with Sasuke, my brother usually pairs up with Shisui because he's faster, while Misaki works on her own because she's too greedy when it comes to food. But she must've been too tired from the mission and convinced my brother to switch sides._

 _She has Shisui pinned face down on the floor, one knee on the floor, the other on his back, while Shisui's got a hold on my brothers ankle, who has at least five rice balls on his hands and is chewing another. He throws one a Misaki but as she's about to grab it, her grip loosens up a bit and Shisui takes the opportunity to push himself up making her lose her balance. In one swift movement he turns the tables around, pinning her on the floor and catching the rice ball with his mouth. He holds both her wrists above her head and forces her to watch him eating the precious food. Her face contours in a mixture of anger, hunger and longing while instinctively reaching up to recover the lost rice ball. As funny as the scene has been, I don't like another man in such a intimate posture with her. Especially Shisui._

 _"Get off her, Shisui." I bite out. Shisui freezes for a second and seems to realise the position he's in, quickly standing up and letting Misaki free. Good choice._

 _"Sorry, man. But those were the last pieces left." I glare at him._

 _"Hey, hey." Misaki approaches me and turns my face to look at her. "Jealous much?" she jokes but the corners of her mouth turned down when she notices the anger emanating from my whole body. "You don't hear me complaining when all the other girls fan all over you, do you?"_

 _"What do you mean?" I ask her taken aback at the question._

 _"Oh, Itachi, you're so strong. Oh, Itachi, show me your your shuriken technique, Itachi, you're so handsome… Itachi, this, Itachi that." She imitates some of the girls on a high-pitched voice while brushing her hand up and down my arm sensually. It surprises me, I've never been aware of her being around when I've encountered these girls in the village. Feeling a bit defensive from being busted, I narrow my eyes at her._

 _"They don't mean anything to me. It's only you I want, you should know that." I tell her._

 _"Ditto." She replies._

 _"So Shisui doesn't mean anything to you?" The words slip from my mouth and I regret it instantly. I don't want to fight with her, again. But it's too late, I can see it in her face._

 _"I love Shisui, he's like a brother to me, you know that. And you know I was referring to the last part."_

 _"Brothers and sisters don't roll around on the floor like that-" Damn, I can't stop myself. I'm focusing my anger on her when I'm only angry at myself. Here I am doubting her when she's done nothing to deserve it._

I've _been the weak one, letting one of the Uchiha girl's seduction go too far while drinking at a bar. Surely I was a bit too inebriated to realise the moment she was going to kiss me and by the time I did, it was too late because_ I _should've stopped it long before._

 _Instead, I let curiosity get the best of me and I let her play the game. Misaki had been the only girl I've ever been with and I knew she was the only girl I ever wanted to be with. But, I don't know what got into me, what an idiot I was. By the time my brain started to work, it was too late. I was already having sex in this girl's house and not feeling anything from it. The memory of that betrayal has been haunting me for weeks now._

 _Misaki is hurt, I can see it in her eyes, and I want to hit my head against the nearest rock. She doesn't reply to my stupid comment, I know she loves Shisui like a brother and that she would never betray me with anyone. Shisui, my best friend, the least. She moves to the table and grabs Sasuke on her way, who was just about to run away with Shisui from the room. She motions to Shisui to sit down as well and he complies. They eat in silence while I stay there looking like a complete moron._

 _I take a deep breath and try to squash my stupid pride down and I sit by her side, opposite to my brother and best friend. He's throwing daggers at me, probably cursing at me in his mind, actually, I can almost hear the nasty words. I know I'm an idiot, I don't need him to tell me._

 _I reach out and tentatively hold her hand. In my head I'm yelling for her forgiveness. She tenses for a second before turning to look at me with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. They're still showing pain and disappointment. We've been having this bickering sessions for the last weeks and it's all my fault. I hate hurting her like this. The last time we did was just before we left on our recent mission and she asked me if I had something to tell her. Does she know or maybe suspect? I made sure to erase the girl's mind before I run away from her home so she could not have told anyone about it. Ha! Unlike me, Misaki is not stupid. I think it's time I tell her the truth and own my mistakes._

 _However, as soon as we're finished eating I sense the presence of one of the familiar Hokage's ANBU outside the window. Misaki does as well and looks dejected. It seems I'm being sent to another mission and the coward part of me feels relief at the sad excuse of not having to see her face when I tell her the truth._

* * *

Frustrated from the memory of the last day he spent with Misaki, Itachi covered his face with his forearm while still lying on the mattress next to her. The last thing she would've remember from him was fighting about something so trivial.

By the time he returned from meeting the Hokage she had been sent on an urgent mission to locate a missing genin since she was one of the most skilled sensor, while he had to complete the Hokage's last order: to infiltrate the Akatsuki. It only took him a month to do so but once he did, he had been assigned a partner and could not return to the village without the others finding out. He never got to tell her about his mission, had she really thought he could just desert the village, his brother and her to join the Akatsuki without looking back?

A year and a half later he saw her by chance in the Hidden Stone Village. It must've been her day off because she was walking around the town in civilian clothes and she had stopped at one of the food stalls. But when he was about to call out for her he got his answer: she had already moved on, because another man appeared next to her and kissed her. _Kissed her_ , and she had smiled back. In that moment he saw red from the uncontrollable anger he felt and the pain from having his heart break into a million pieces. He was too late.

He never got the chance to explain his erratic behaviour to her and, after he 'renounced' the village, she must've believed the same story everyone did. The Hokage was probably the only person who knew about his mission while he had been branded a missing-nin who had abandoned his duties as a shinobi and rejected the village.

For a time he wanted to be angry at her but he never succeeded. He had brought this on himself and couldn't blame her. He had spent their last weeks acting like an idiot and then, under the Hokage's orders, had left without any warning. To make things worse, he hadn't had the guts to go and fight for her. She deserved better, not a fool who had thrown away what they had by sleeping with another girl whose name he couldn't even remember. So he let her walk away without saying a word. Maybe he had been a coward but at least she had looked happy, and it was all that mattered.

But by a twist of fate, Misaki was back in his life, lying next to him, with no memories of his idiotic phase or the man who had made her smile the last time he saw her. He will make her fall in love with him again and then what? He couldn't afford to take her back to the village. Would he act as the missing-nin everybody thought he was? Could he do this to her?

For now he will take one step at a time. Once she realised that they were meant together they would decide what to do, together.

* * *

 **Hello there!**

 **Thanks for reading my story! If you're enjoying it so far, I'd just love to hear that from you so please comment below :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning** : please be aware that the following chapter includes emotional and physical abuse.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7**

She'd been practicing the kunai technique Itachi had taught her in the morning before leaving to get some food. The first time he showed her she thought it was impossible to do but with practice she found herself easily hitting several targets in one go, even the ones in the blind spots. Her body moved with familiarity which let her know she has done this in the past.

She noticed a presence closer to her, her body tensing and going on alert mode. "That's very impressive." Deidara said suddenly appearing in her line of vision, dread filling her. "Where is Itachi?" he asked her.

"He'll… be back in second." She lied to him. Itachi had only just left but the way he was looking at her made her nervous, he moved like a predator, and instantly her back was up. "Is he?" He didn't seem to believe her.

He took two steps and ended up mere inches from her, and though she didn't move, everything inside her screamed retreat. His hand reached up to move a strand of her hair behind her ear making her flinch at his touch. She eyed one of the kunai on the tree but realised that it was too far for her to reach.

"Now, now. Don't you try and grab one of those, you won't make in time… you don't want me to go pay the old folks a visit, do you?" He threatened her like he had been reading her intentions.

"No, please no. Leave them out of it." She said looking back at him. She didn't want anything happening to them.

"I won't. As long as you'll be a good girl." He said and he moved closer until his cheek was touching hers. She felt his tongue licking the skin under her ear. It felt disgusting but she forced herself to stay still.

"What… what do you want from me?" A heavy feeling pressed down on her chest, and she took a ragged breath.

"Hmm…" His hand sneaked inside her shirt and grabbed one of her breasts roughly. Her body started shaking with the overwhelmed inability to do anything. Her heartbeat pulsated in her ears, anxiety coursing through her and making her feel nauseous.

He pushed her backwards until her back hit one of the trees. And then his mouth seemed to be all over her, licking and sucking her neck while he ground his hips against her and run his hands inside her top. She wanted to push him far away from him, take one of the kunai and stab him with it. But she stood there, letting this man abuse her. This was going to be her fate, left powerless at the hands of these people. But she had no other choice, she couldn't let them hurt the only two people she knew and care about, Kana and Hachiro. They had taken care of her and were no match to any of these vile men. She didn't even know where they were, so even if she could escape she wouldn't be able to find them first and take them with her. Where would she even go?

"Come on, show me what you can do. Or has Itachi tire you too much last night?" Deidara said with his lips still on her neck. She didn't know what she was supposed to do so she run her hands over his hard chest and he shivered. He leaned back for a second before he assaulted her mouth with his. His tongue pushed his way into hers in a ravenous way. She whimpered but didn't move away. She couldn't say anything against him. He was going to do what he wanted whether she protested or not.

Instead, she built an imaginary wall around her brain so she could go through the motions this man was demanding, but not going through the emotions. The disconnection between her mind and her body provided with a welcomed numbness.

"Deidara." His partner luckily interrupted him from somewhere behind the trees. Deidara froze and she was able to breath again. "We've been summoned. Let's go." He added before turning to leave.

Deidara lapped her lips one last time before pulling away with eyes wide and a smile on his face. She stood there, her face impassive. "You taste so much better than I imagined. Don't worry, this isn't over." He told her before turning to follow his partner. She didn't move but welcomed the breeze cooling her skin.

When he was away from her sight she let her body slide down the trunk of the tree, hugging her knees close to her chest and letting the tears that had pooled in her eyes fall down her face. The wall she had built started crumbling down, letting the overwhelming feelings inundate her. She allowed herself to sob for a few minutes before finding the strength to rebuild that wall back up. She would get through this until she found a way to locate the old couple and run away. She had to stay strong until then.

She would let them have her body but she won't let them crush her soul.

* * *

She was working on her shuriken throw when Itachi returned half an hour later.

"I brought some food but it might be cold now. I was summoned to a meeting on the way her and didn't have the chance to stop first, sorry." He told her.

"It's fine, I'm not hungry." She said impassively as she kept throwing the star-shaped blades. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped back, pointing the shuriken in Itachi's direction.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked her with a frown on his face.

 _I'm being kept against my will here while you or the blond guy can do as you please with my body. I have no recollection of who I am or where I'm from. I want to cry for the uncertainty of my future. I want to cry for wanting to cry. I want to cry because I don't know anything about my past, I don't know what I do to get out of here…_

"Nothing." She answered simply.

He took a step towards her but she shoved past him to grab the cold bento containing rice and fish. She didn't like the look he was giving her, it was almost like pity. Sitting down on the floor she opened the box and using the chopsticks she started eating without really tasting the food.

Itachi sat down next to her and started eating his food while looking at her. He didn't understand the sudden change in her mood. She seemed... deflated, like something had died inside her. When he left to go to the nearest town she was working on her kunai throw and was grinning for mastering the technique so quickly. He wasn't surprised in the sightless, she had always been good at that, probably even better than him.

"Itachi!" a female voice yelled. A tall girl with long black hair and blue eyes started running towards Itachi. She was wearing a very short skirt and a tight sleeveless top that showcased her ample breasts. She reached him as he stood up, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I haven't seen you in ages! Have you forgotten about me?" she asked in a sensual voice. Itachi leaned back slightly and looked down at her, his face unreadable.

"I've been busy… Kiwa." Kiwa seemed to ignore the fact that he had taken a second too long to remember her name.

Deidara approached them with another blonde in tow. She was dressed in a similar way, although her skirt was even shorter, a thing she wouldn't have believed possible after seeing Kiwa's skirt. Deidara pushed the blond towards Itachi and put his arm around her when she stood up. She tensed.

"Go and keep Itachi company. I'll be busy with _her_..." Deidara ordered the blonde as he rub his nose against her face. A nasty shiver run down her back while she watched the blonde quickly grabbing Itachi's arm, rubbing her breasts against it but Itachi pushed her away and untangled himself from the brunette. His eyes boring into Deidara's unaware face.

"Sorry ladies but we're still busy" he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Her body collided with his, relaxing instantly. She looked up and found that his jaw was set while he kept staring at Deidara. Confused one more time for her body's reaction she moved away from him. Why would she feel more secure with him? They were two sides of the same coin, weren't they?

"What? Since when do you keep them two nights in a row?" Deidara asked loudly. "You had her yesterday. I even brought your favourite twins to keep you entertained for tonight."

"We were training yesterday. And you'll get her when I'll tell you so…" Itachi answered.

"Tsk. It's not like you to take so long." He said with a smirk. "Alright, let me know when you're done. Kiwa, Keiko, let's get out of here." The girls pouted at Itachi before moving to each side of Deidara, who put his arms around their shoulders. He was still looking at her with a silent promise that he would get her eventually.

Itachi copied him, putting his arm around her shoulders and turning to go back to the cave. Her anger was boiling inside her. She was being treated as a property, Itachi would use her first and then he would pass her to Deidara. And then what? The rest of the group? Bile rose in her throat but she pushed it back down. _Stay strong, stay strong._ She repeated this mantra in her head.

They reached the room they had slept in and Itachi removed his arm from her. Without a word she went to mattress on the floor and sat on the back on her heels, her head lowered in total submission. There was no point in fighting this, her instinct didn't say run, they said obey. Itachi kneeled in front of her on the floor and lift her face with a finger. He was staring at her with a strange expression on his face, it was warm and tender unlike the way Deidara had done earlier.

"Do you want to rest?" he asked her which caught her by surprise.

"I'd like to take a bath. I've been sweating all day." _I want to wash the stench of Deidara all over me._

"Sure. I'll show you where you can get cleaned up. Rest after that, we've been contracted to capture a shinobi from the Hidden Stone Village so we will need to have our full energy to go against him. We will leave tonight along with Deidara. We're going to his hometown so he has intel on all the possible locations." Itachi informed her. _Great, it had to be Deidara, my luck sucks._

"Who wants him and why?"

"We don't know the identity of our client, he wears a mask all the time so we just refer to him as the 'masked man'. He's collecting the jinchurikis, these are humans that have tailed beasts sealed within them, hence they have incredible power due to the immense chakra they acquire from them.

The jinchuriki we are after is called Han, he can use Boil release, a kekkei genkai that combines fire and water-based chakra, so the fire jutsu you've learned so far won't do anything to him. However, Deidara has the upper hand with his earth jutsu while I can protect us both from it and use your speed and fire blade to break through his special armour."

"Are- are you sure we can win against him? For what you're saying he seems to be very powerful." She asked him.

"Yes, trust me." He answered simply. And from some unknown reason, she did.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

They reached the location where Han was hiding out and she could see why it was called the Stone Village. All she could see around were rocky mountains, rock walls, high stone walls and all the houses were made of the hard mineral. It would've been almost impossible for her to find this spot as it was no different from all the other places they had just passed through. Now she understood why Deidara had to come, he was a shinobi from his village and he knew the area like the palm of his hand.

However, at the sight of Han, she felt terrified. He was at least over 7 feet/2 metres tall with a very large complexion. He was wearing an armour over red clothes, a mask and a red hat. His presence scream power and she could actually feel the extend of his chakra. Nevertheless, Deidara and Itachi still seemed confident about taking this incredible and powerful man.

Deidara threw some clay bombs at Han, the enormous explosion catching him by surprise which Itachi quickly followed it with his great fireball jutsu. Ash and debris flew all around her, forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them she could see Han getting back on his feet like nothing had happened but the landscape showed otherwise. The area had been wiped out, leaving a vast open space with the jinchuriki standing in the middle of it.

She gulped, the two powerful attacks hadn't affect Han at all, what was she even doing here? The armour seemed to protect him from strikes, why did Itachi said her sword would pierce through it? It just seemed impossible and she felt too intimidated by his size to attempt to get close to him.

Han's armour started to release steam and Itachi quickly moved to her side. The area temperature was quickly increasing but Itachi created a sort of skeletal chakra form that surrounded them both and stopped the stream from reaching and boiling them to death. "Don't worry, my Susanoo will protect us but only for a moment, I haven't been able to fully control the Susanoo's power yet and it uses up too much chakra. You need to get ready. As soon as you see an opening, you must attack." He instructed her.

Deidara on the other hand, used a jutsu where his body hid underground like a mole, disappearing from view. While Han was distracted trying to locate him, she work and channeling her chakra onto her sword but her concentration halted when Han decided to attack them instead. He threw a quick steam-enhanced kick that clashed with Itachi's Susanoo, sending them hurtling backwards. In that moment, Deidara launched himself from the ground behind Han and quickly attached more explosives around Han's neck. They quickly moved out of the way before the explosion took place.

"Art is an explosion!" Deidara laughed but his laughter was cut short when Han stood up again from within the smoke.

"Your explosive clay doesn't have any effect on him nor does my fire jutsu. Deidara, we need to keep him occupied until she can get an opening and attack him with her sword." Itachi said and then looked at her. "You can do it, focus on your chakra and let it flow through your sword." He told her.

She tighten her hold on the grip of her sword and closed her eyes. She'd only done this once before and the lack of time was not on her side. Itachi had too much faith in her because at that moment she didn't have any control of her chakra. The clashing of rocks distracted her once again and she opened her eyes. Deidara had been thrown against a large boulder, causing an indentation on it and leaving him struggling to get up while Itachi was on a hand-to-hand combat against Han. He seemed to see through each of Han's attacks but it was clear that the jinchuriki had the upper hand in strength.

Itachi was retreating when Han blew a jet of steam towards him, his Susanoo began to materialise but stopped when Itachi hold onto his eye and doubled over in pain. She suddenly appeared in front of Han and released a blast of chakra that had been spiralling inside her when she had been trying to focus it on her sword. A swirling stream of wind enclosed her and repelled the incoming attack. Next thing she knew Han had grabbed her by the neck, but now she was in control of her chakra. She felt it flowing through her hands onto her sword and she pierced the jinchuriki's chest with her fire-enhanced sword as it melted his armour.

Han's grip on her loosed as his legs gave out and dropped on the floor unconscious. She withdrew her sword, leaving a hole that wasn't bleeding because the heat of the metal had already seal the wound. She blinked at man on the floor and couldn't believe what she was seeing. She felt like she had watched the last 30 seconds of the fight from outside of herself, it was surreal.

She turned and found Itachi looking at her in a way that burned hotter than her sword had just done. She met his intense gaze and forgot to breath. The air around her charged with electricity and her entire body thrummed to life. There was an invisible pull that was drawing her body to his and she had to plant her feet firmly on the ground to stop herself from launching herself at him. Itachi must've read on her face what was going on inside her because he moved towards her and cupped her face. She took a ragged breath from the contact.

"Why did you save me?" he asked her.

"I- I couldn't let you burn to death."

"Why?" he insisted.

"I don't know. My body just… moved." And it was true, one moment she was watching Itachi 50 metres away about to be engulfed in the deadly steam and the next she was in front of him, protecting him. Her body seemed to have a mind of her own when it came to this man because it wasn't the first time she had done so.

"That was cutting it a bit too close, don't you think?" Deidara was suddenly next to them. She had been lost in thought and didn't even notice him approaching. "I've never seen anyone move so fast, except from the Konoha's Yellow Flash… wait a minute! I've heard of a pair of Konoha's shinobi that were as fast as the Second Hokage, one of them was a kunoichi, could that be her? That's your village, isn't it Itachi?"

Something flash in Itachi's eyes but it was gone in an instant and she couldn't tell for sure if she had really seen it.

"I left 5 years ago. I wouldn't know." He answered, his face blank but the tone of his voice gave her an unpleasant feeling.

"Are you sure? That would explain why you have so much faith in her abilities." Deidara said as he turned his back to them and bent to pick the jinchuriki's lifeless body. Itachi didn't answer, he just stared at Deidara's back before giving her a quick glance from the corner of his eye.

Was it possible Itachi knew her? That would explain why he knew her her powers better than her. It was almost as if he knew she would be able to take Han down when she had thought it would be impossible for her to do so. But if that was the case, why wouldn't he tell her who she was? Why would he hide her past from her?

She didn't know why but there was definitely something Itachi was hiding. That quick glance he had given her told her so.

* * *

She opened her eyes and knew instantly that this was a dream. Why? Because she was looking at a girl with long straight black hair wearing a dark green flak jacket over dark blue long-sleeved shirt and trousers. This girl was her, or at least she looked exactly like her.

The girl is walking towards the entrance of a compound. The gates have a symbol that resembles a red and white paper fan, like the ones used to fan flames to make them hotter. Once inside she turns to her right but after two steps she stops and looks back with an expression of confusion on her face. She turns around and heads west instead, but this time she's walking slower.

Something in the dream shifts and she is now walking as the girl that resembles her. She's looking for someone, the chakra she can sense is familiar but the road she's taking is not the one that leads to his house. It must be around midnight, she's hungry and tired after just coming back from another mission but that hasn't stopped her from coming here to see him, because she knows that he can make it all better.

However, with each step she takes a sense of apprehension grows stronger inside her. Her thoughts are interlaced with the girls and the pain is almost tangible. When she stops outside a house she's only seen once, the tightening around her chest is unbearable. Two chakra signatures on the first floor, one unknown to her.

"Misaki." A male voice says behind her, she doesn't need to turn. She knows who he is. Not only he was one of the most talented shinobi in the village, he was the man she's known since childhood, her teacher, best friend and one of the few people she knows she can always count on.

"Shisui." His name escapes from her lips. "What are you doing here?"

"I sensed you a moment ago. Your distress is so strong that it woke me up." He answers. They both stay in silence for a few seconds, none of them moving at all but she knows when he realises the reason for her pain when she feels the anger emanating from him.

"I don't think you should look through that window." Shisui says before placing a hand on her shoulder. Whether is to stop her from jumping to that said window or to give her comfort it's not clear to her. Would he defend his best friend, the boy he treates as a brother?

Her breathing becomes ragged and she feels as if her lungs might burst. Shisui's hand applies more pressure on her shoulder which tells her that he's put it there to stop her from what she's about to do. She turns to face him and finds him shaking his head no. Her chest shakes with a sob that she didn't want to let loose and his eyes mirrors the agony she's feeling.

Shaking his hand loose she jumps to the small balcony ledge located on the floor above them and immediately recognises Itachi's shirtless figure standing by a bed. He's wearing his trousers and is holding his shirt on one hand. A half naked girl is lying there with the sheets tangled around her body. For the look in her face, it's clear what had just taken place. She recognises her as one of the many girls always following Itachi when he's in the village.

Tears wells in her eyes, and she feels as if she was about to be sick. Itachi, the boy she loves probably since she's met him, her first love, her first kiss, her first everything… the boy who had always stayed by her side and has told her countless times how much he loves her is a stranger to her now. Anger and frustration overwhelms her as the tears she can no longer held in check streams down her cheeks. Her heartbeat pulsates in her ears and she cannot breath. Blackness starts to cloud her brain, it's screaming at her to inhale but her lungs don't respond. She feels her body falling of the balcony as her eyes close. She doesn't care anymore, something has died inside her. Something that can never be repaired.

Strong arms catches her before she hits the ground, a gasp breaking from her lips. He's always there to catch her when she falls.

"Shisui." She whispers his name, opening her eyes as she wakes up from that dreadful nightmare.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

~ A few hours earlier in Konoha ~

The main street leading to Konoha's entrance was quiet. A few of the stores that sold dishes for the early mornings were starting to get ready to open for business.

Under the raising sun, Shisui was approaching the open front gates where Kotetsu and Izumo were stationed to guard the entrance when he spotted a shinobi moving towards them. He quickly realised that it was Genma, thanks to the forehead protector he always wore as a bandana and a senbon he always had on his mouth. Genma was walking unevenly and he was holding his left shoulder as if he was in pain.

The gate guards were standing up when he teleported next to the elite jonin that usually went on missions with Misaki. He helped him stay straight by holding his good arm and taking some of his weight.

"Genma, what happened?" Shisui asked.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Shisui, you need to find Misaki." He answered looking at him with wide eyes.

"What do you mean? Were you on a mission with her?"

"Yes. Yesterday morning we were on the Land of Rivers following after a lead on the Akatsuki. We lost track of him when we reached a cliff above one of the rivers. I'm not sure what happened exactly but we were pushed off the edge and next thing I knew I woke up at night by the riverbed, alone. I couldn't see her anywhere but for the looks of the area around me, it seemed that I was the only one that reached the bottom. I searched for her all night but I was going in blind because I couldn't sense her. I came back to the village so you or Minato could locate her, since your sensory skills are greater than mine." Genma grabbed his flak jacket's neck and pull him towards him. "You can sense her, right?" He asked alarmed.

Shisui gathered his chakra, he concentrated on searching for Misaki's familiar chakra signature. A chill ran down his spine when his senses could not locate her. He pulled his chakra tightly, working on expanding his range. Nothing.

Frowning, he looked down at the injured shinobi. "What was the location exactly?"

"The river that passes next to Takumi village. Are you not able to reach that far?"

"I am, but I can't sense her right now. Minato should be able to find her even if she has somehow been taken further away. Let me take you to the hospital and I'll report to the Hokage." Shisui told him making a tiger hand seal and teleporting them both to the hospital's main reception.

"Do you think she's been kidnapped? A chakra block would make sense." Genma relaxed a little bit on his arms. "I'm sorry Shisui. I really don't know what hit us."

"It's not your fault. Let the nurses look at your wounds." Shisui motioned for the nurse to bring a wheelchair and come near. "I'll find her." He said before repeating the hand sign and moving to the Hokage's office.

Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, was sitting on her desk signing a paper. Kakashi, the silver haired shinobi wearing a mask and a forehead protector to cover a Sharingan eye given by one of the Uchiha, was standing next to the Hokage's desk. He turned slightly to look at him with his uncovered eye. Tsunade looked over her glasses at him and her back straighten.

"What is it?" she asked.

Shisui bowed at the Hokage before reporting. "Genma has just returned to the village. He's been taken to the hospital due to non life-threatening injuries. His mission with Misaki had been compromised near Takumi village and lost contact with her yesterday morning. I'm not able to sense her location so I'd like to request Minato's help on this." He summarised, there was no time to waste.

"Understood. Minato has just returned from a mission, he should be in his residence. As soon as you get a lead gather a team and conduct a search operation." Tsunade instructed.

"Shisui." Kakashi started. "My ninja dogs can help. Pakkun is able to detect scent that has been masked. I'll be by the gates if you need me."

"Thank you, Kakashi. Lady Hokage." Shisui said before teleporting to the stairs leading to Minato's house. He stood by his living door window waiting for the blond jonin to sense him. He was Misaki's close friend due to sharing the same sensei and he had been teaching her his signature teleportation jutsu. Not only was Minato faster than him thanks to his space-time ninjutsu, his sensory skills were unrivaled, being able to detect a familiar chakra signature no matter the distance.

"Shisui, please come in." He heard Minato call out from inside the house. Shisui opened the entrance door and entered the homely house after removing his sandals.

Kushina, Minato's red haired wife, was bringing some omelets to the table where Minato was sitting and reading a paper while Menma, their son and Konoha's jinchuriki, was watching her while standing by the kitchen counter.

"Shisui, it's been a while. Do you want some breakfast?" Kushina asked him with a smile on her face.

"Thanks, Kushina. But I can't stay. Misaki is missing and I'm gathering a team for her search." He answered.

"What happened?" Both Minato and Menma asked at the same time. Minato put his paper down and frowned at his serious expression.

"Apparently they were hit by some sort of blinding energy and were thrown off the edge of a cliff. When Genma woke up hours later he was alone. This happened about 24 hours ago." Shisui explained.

"And I assume you're unable to sense her." Minato said before closing his eyes and working on locating Misaki's signature chakra. After a few seconds later Shisui could see Minato's eyes moving frantically under his eyelids, obviously encountering the same issue he had when he tried to find her. "Hmph." He grunted opening his eyes and looking at him.

"How is that possible, Dad?" Menma asked his father.

"There are a few options Menma. One: Misaki is hiding for some unknown reason, she has the ability to erase her chakra's presence and be completely undetected, even under my sensory skills. Two: the enemy has her and has cast a jutsu on her to hide her chakra... " Minato looked at Shisui while Menma was looking at his father waiting for the third option, the one that no one wanted to voice out loud: she was dead.

Realising what the last option was, Menma turn to look at him. "I'm coming with you. There's not way Misaki sensei is…someone must've taken her, otherwise she would've used that giant eagle of hers to save Genma from falling. She wouldn't just take off and leave a comrade behind."

"What do you mean with giant eagle?" He asked him.

"Her contracted animal? The one she uses to travel long distances..." Menma replied confused at the question.

"You're not making sense, Menma. Misaki's summoning animal is a crow, the same as Shisui." Minato told him.

Menma looked between his father and him. "Huh? Since when? She already has that summoning tattoo… ooh, maybe…" he looked to the side.

Shisui grabbed both his shoulders and Menma looked back at him. "You're hiding something, what is it?" Menma just stood there looking at him in silence.

"Menma." Minato started. "If you have any sort of information that could lead us to finding Misaki, please, tell us."

Menma's shoulders sagged. "It's something Shisui said earlier, about a blinding energy… The truth is, I'm not from this world, also, my name is not Menma, my name is Naruto. I ended up here after a similar energy force surrounded me and Sakura, teleporting us to this world where our dreams came true…"

"Menma, what are you talking about?" Kushina asked him.

"Where I'm from, my parents died in order to protect the village and me. So here, I have you both. In my world, Misaki was one of the few people that treated me like a normal person, I had no parents but she did her best to help me out, she also worked at the orphanage taking care of other kids with no parents or home.

In this world, we haven't encountered mine and Sakura's alternate selves. Sakura thinks that's because our bodies were switched when we were hit by the jutsu."

"So, you're saying the Misaki from our world has been taken to _your_ world? Could the Misaki from your world be here?" Minato asked him.

"It's a possibility. If she's here we need to find her." He answered.

"If your dream was to have your parents, what would be Misaki's dream?" Shisui asked him.

"I'm not sure. There were several people she missed in my world, she lost too many people precious to her: you, Itachi, her mother, her two brothers… if she's not with you, could she be with one them?"

"Her mother and brothers also passed away in this world." Shisui replied.

"Then that leaves Itachi! Where is he?" Naruto looked between him and Minato.

"He left the village and joined the Akatsuki." Shisui answered while looking at Minato.

"Here as well? But now you can locate Itachi, isn't it? Then we can see if Misaki is with him."

"Misaki and Genma were chasing after a lead to locate the Akatsuki, so it's a possibility. However, if he _has_ her then it could be him hiding her presence, which means his would be masked as well." He said looking at Minato.

"Correct. No trace of him either." Minato declared after using his sensory skills to look Itachi.

"Kakashi is waiting at the gates. He said his ninken would be able to trace Misaki's scent even if it was masked." Shisui informed them.

"Alright, let's go. Men- Naruto, you can come too."


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

Itachi is watching Misaki's sleeping form after she passed out for overusing her chakra during their fight with the jinchuriki of the Five-Tails. Deidara's still on his way to their hideout with Han's body while they've camped in one of the hidden caves so she can rest before continuing their journey.

The abilities she'd displayed in the last few days have been remarkable as expected from her but, they're all new to him and yet so similar to the ones she had come to master in the past. Why would she develop such powerful jutsus when they weren't better than the others?

There was something odd about her that I couldn't put his finger on. Little things that I've noticed in the last few days. Not only her techniques differed, I've seen her held and lead her sword with her left hand, but she's always been right-handed, then there's the summoning tattoo on her left wrist, it shows images of eagles but she'd signed a contract with the crows with me, are shinobis even allowed to summon two different animals? That would be the first time I'd ever heard about it.

Nevertheless, it's still _her_. Still unaware of the power she has, still drifting off to sleep from absolute exhaustion, always forgetting to keep tabs on her chakra levels, always jumping to stand in the line of fire to save others with no fear of dying. She still has the power to make me feel complete and I want that feeling of completeness to last an eternity.

Misaki is starting to get restless in her sleep. Her breathing is uneven and there's a frown on her face. It seems she's having a bad dream again. I notice that tears are falling on the side of her face, she's stopped breathing and I hold my breath watching her. I wonder what she's dreaming about. Could it be related to their last encounter with Han or could it be memories from the past? Every time she sleeps nightmares seem to haunt her but once awake she doesn't seem to remember them.

Suddenly her body convulses on the floor.

"Shisui." She breathes and her eyes open.

The name chills me to the bone. She's dreaming about the past, it's the memories that have been haunting her on her sleep.

She slowly turns her face to look at me with wide eyes and a laboured breathing. There's a recognition behind them that wasn't there before. But as she blinks a few times that spark is gone.

I stare into her eyes expecting her to see me like a monster, I'm keeping the truth from her after all. "What were you dreaming about?" I ask her.

Her lips parts but there are no words coming out from them. I can almost hear the wheels turning in her head searching for the answer. She touches her face and looks down at the moist collected on her fingertips.

"I- I can't remember… but I have this lingering feeling that it wasn't something pleasant." Misaki grips her chest, she's hurting.

I move to her side and place a hand on her shoulder. She jerks away from his touch from the first time which surprises us both. She might not remember what the dream was about but it seems that her subconscious does.

Not wanting that feeling to stay with her, I raise my hand slowly towards her, letting her know of my intentions. She looks at my hand from the corner of her eye but doesn't move. I cup her face and gently rub my thumb across her cheek, wiping away the remaining tears. Misaki looks at me, her eyes searching, probably trying to find the reason for the pull she was feeling, because I'm feeling it vibrating within me. Slowly, her lips turned up. Air whooshed out of my lungs at seeing her smile. It should be a crime to be so beautiful.

She closes the distance and pressed her lips against mine. I'm as surprised at first but then I'm kissing her softly, almost… vehemently. My tongue gently runs through her lips and when they part my tongue invades her mouth. A moan escapes her when the tip of my tongue traces the corner of her lips.

I keep one hand holding her face while the other grazes her thigh slowly moving up to hold onto her waist. I then pushes her down on the ground but when she feels my weight on her, she freezes and her eyes start tearing up. Noticing the tension in her body I lean back to look at her, my eyes widening when I spot the new tears.

"Why are you crying?" I ask her. She puts her hand on the back of my head and tries to pull me back to her but I don't budge. There's something strange on the way the kiss has turned. A moment ago her heart was in it but now it's like the kisses are empty. Misaki doesn't allow me to dwell into it further as she pulls herself up and places her lips to my neck, slowly running her tongue over his skin. A shiver runs through my body and I begin to lose control. My mouth automatically runs over her neck in the same way. When my mouth finds hers again it's not gentle anymore, I'm kissing her without restraining myself while a noise in the back of my throat escapes. I've dreamt about having her in my arms again like this for a very long time.

The hand at her waist pushes its way up and cups her breast through the fabric of her shirt, the joy of feeling her velvety skin is cut short when I notice her tensing again. Feeling fresh tears spilling from the sides of her face I lean back again to look at her. She's keeping her eyes firmly closed. The apprehension I noticed earlier grows further. Removing the hand on her breast I place it on the ground to keep my weight off her. "What's going on? Mi-... Tell me." That was close, I need to regain my control.

She covers her face with both hands before speaking. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry. Please, I… continue."

"What- What do you mean?" Why would I want to continue when she's clearly not enjoying this? The unpleasant feeling has taken every cell in my body and I move further away from her so I'm not touching her anymore. When she doesn't answer I pull her hands away from her face and wait.

"Deidara warned me that if I didn't comply he would kill them." She finally answers while looking down. I feel the blood draining from my face for a second before rage takes over. Jumping away from the floor as it were on fire I pace back and for in front of her with my fingers pinch the bridge of my nose. My heart is hammering inside my chest and I feel like screaming. That bastard has threatened her?

"Is this what you've been doing so far? I thought you… were you just pretending?" I can't help but raise my voice in anger.

She breaks the eye contact and looks down again. I held both of her shoulders until she looks up at me.

"What did Deidara do to you? Did he touch you?" my voice is even but my chakra rumbles inside me. She seems to notice because she automatically pulls away.

"The other day, when you went to get food he… started… but then, the other guy came and said they they've been summoned so nothing happened."

My grip on her shoulders tightens but when she flinches I quickly let go.

"He… touched _you_? I'm going to kill that bastard" I say before standing up. I feel like breaking something up with my bare hands.

"No, wait!" she quickly grabs my sleeve before I take a step.

"They way he spoke let me think that that's your usual way… sharing girls, that is. Or are you upset he kissed me first?" She questions.

"He-kissed-you-first" I speak each word with effort before taking a deep breath. "I wasn't planning on letting him touch, either first or after I did."

"Oh?" She seems surprise at that. What does she think I am? A monster? It's true that I've done that with many females but they were all willing, nobody forced anyone. I never thought Deidara had that in him. The Misaki I know would've broken every single finger of his if he'd laid a hand on her. He would never have that kind of power over her.

Guilt curses through my veins, it's my fault for keeping her with us while she has no recollection of her memories.

I don't want to believe that everything she's done had been forced. I know she does feel something for me, she must. So I slowly lift my hand towards her face and place it on her left cheek, my thumb lightly brushing her lips. I want to kiss her again, make her see that. We belong together.

"Tell me. When I touch you like this you don't flinch like you do when Deidara touches you. I know you don't like his hands on you but, what do you feel when _I_ touch you?" I ask her.

"I… I seem to find comfort in your touch, Itachi. My body seems to react to you in a sort of... familiar way. Why is that? What are you hiding from me? Do we know each other?"

Surprised to find how quickly she makes the assumption instead of thinking that she's simply attracted to me, I stay silent. You know me better than anyone. But I can't tell you the truth just yet. If I tell you where you're from I'm sure you would run back there and I'm not ready to let you go yet. I want you to see that what you're feeling is the same love we once share in the past. It's not gone. It never did. You might have forgotten about me but your heart still remembers me. Don't you see, Misaki? I don't tell her what I'm thinking, I just look into her eyes and wish she could see into my heart.

"Forget for a second where you are. What you know about me." I say before placing a feather kiss on her lips. "Do you feel _that_?" I can she her pupils dilating slightly as her lips parts and she gasps. She quickly regains her composure.

"I can tell you're not telling me something. What is it?" She asks.

"Misaki."

"Huh?"

"Misaki, that's your name." I tell her for now and she gaps. "But if the Akatsuki finds out who you are, you'd be dead. They can never find out, I don't want anything happening to you."

"Itachi… How do we know each other? Why do I feel like I'd always wanted you? Why do I crave for your touch? In this world of uncertainty, the only thing that is certain is this feeling I get when I'm in your arms."

"We…" I touch my lips against hers. "You… you've had my heart since we were kids." Another feathery kiss, slightly longer. Her body slowly arching against mine. "You're the one that makes my heart beat." Misaki's arms wrap around my neck as I slant my mouth against hers as the fusion of our heat grows to the point that it seems like it's not enough. "You make me feel complete." I want to feel every inch of her body against mine and I push her until her back hits the wall, probably a bit to forceful for the way the air rushes out of her mouth.

Things get out of control from there. Like a invisible safety device she had in place has been unleashed. Our mouths meet again, and again, briefly parting for a split second to get some air. "Closer." She whispers and the heat of her breath in my ear makes me roll my eyes, then her head descends as she licks slowly down my neck. Each breath tickles against my skin and my body obeys her, my hips pushing into her roughly, making her gasp and shiver.

"Not enough." Her voice is fuelled by lust and I lose the little control I had left. My hands grab her thighs and lift them, my body seeking the contact with her heated core. Her legs automatically wraps around my waist. I look down with my forehead pressed against hers, her skirt is bunched up around her thighs and the view of her exposed skin drives me crazy.

Her fingertips run around my scalp and without bothering to remove her underwear I simply move it to the side as I slowly enter her while looking into her eyes. We both fight the urge to close them as the connexion feels like an explosion hitting us hard. "Yes…" she breathes. Tightening her grip around my neck she pulls me closer as I move frantically, I can't seem to get enough of her. The contrast with our usual slow love-making ring some alarm bells in the back of my mind but I push it away. It's been so long, years of dreaming of having her like this and remembering our previous times together have not done justice. I dug my fingers into her backside, arching my hips into hers, seeking a deeper contact.

"More…" she demands. I slowly lower ourselves into the ground, sitting with my knees bend as she straddles me. The position gives her what she needs because her head falls back while I feel her clenching around me as she gives into bliss. A few seconds later I follow her, hugging her tightly with my face pressed against her chest.

We don't move. It takes us a good couple of minutes to catch our breath and when I feel her heart return to its normal pace I look up at her. Her cheeks are flushed and she looks at me under heavy eyelids and I want to burn this image in my brain forever.

The corner of my mouth lifts up. "I love your face after I've taken you over the edge."

A smile starts appearing on her face but it freezes all of a sudden, her eyes widening in shock and she leans away from me.

"What is it?" I ask alarmed.

She quickly disentangles herself from me and stands up without taking her eyes off me.

"Misaki?" I don't understand what's going on but a chill runs through my whole body when her eyes start to move from side to side, she seems agitated as if she's remembering something. When she covers her eyes with both hands I brace myself for the worst.

"The girl…" she starts, confusing me further. "... you were standing in this girl's bedroom, and she had that unmistakable look on her face while she laid naked on her bed." My heart skips a beat as a memory of that night flashes in my mind. She couldn't have possibly seen that…

"Wait, what are you talking about?" I ask stupidly.

"The dream I had earlier… they were memories of that night. Only, they weren't my memories."

I remove one of her hands from her face. "You're not making sense. How are they not _your_ memories?"

"I- I can't explain it but I _know_ they aren't." She answers while shaking her head. "It was like I connected to this girl that looked exactly like me and revived her worst memory. But it wasn't me, I'm not the same girl. I'm not Misaki."

"Wh- What? Of course it's you! You might be confused because you can't remember that happening. But I know it is you. How would you explain your feelings towards me?" I ask her. I'm denying her logic but in some dark corner of my mind what she's saying makes sense. All the little details I've noticed in the last couple of days start to fall into place. It's her, and yet, she isn't. How is this possible?

"I don't know!" She yells and we both stand looking at each other in silence. Could it be that someone has taken over her body? Who is she then and where's Misaki?

"I think it's best if I take you back to the Land of Fire. The Hokage might be able to find the answer." I tell her, grabbing her hand and starting to walk towards the entrance of the cave.

* * *

 **Hello there!**

 **Thanks for reading my story! If you're enjoying it so far, I'd just love to hear that from you so please comment below and/or follow me to find out the rest of the story.**

 **:)**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

"Itachi, you're just going to let me go? What about the Akatsuki? And the people who took care of me?" she asked him.

"Don't worry about the Akatsuki or the couple that took you, I'll keep them safe." Itachi answered.

"Won't you… return to the village with me?"

 _What the hell had just happened? I'm not that girl, Misaki, but yet my feelings for him… it's not just my body reacting to him, there's something else. Like we have shared a past, a life, love… if only I could remember maybe it would all make sense._

Itachi stopped walking and his grip tightened on her hand, his body tensing. "It seems I won't have to take you there."

"What do you mean?" she asked but she sensed that there were several people approaching their location. "Should we run?"

"No. We couldn't outrun them anyway. They're shinobi from the Leaf, _our_ village and two of the fastest shinobi in all the Five Great Shinobi countries are amongst them." He answered.

A small dog appeared in front of them, followed by several shinobi wearing forehead protectors with the same symbol as Itachi's: three men and two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Two of the men, the blond and the silver haired man, simply looked at them with a blank expression while the other man with dark hair and the two teens had a shocked expression at seeing her hands and Itachi's together.

"Misaki sensei?" the blond teen asked looking at her.

"Sensei?" she asked confused.

The teen and the blond man shared a look. They seemed to be father and son, not because of their hair but because they looked so alike.

The dark haired man took a step forward and looked at Itachi. "Itachi. Let Misaki go. Now." She felt his chakra soar seconds before Itachi's did the same. Everybody, including her, went on alert. This man looked angry, very angry. He didn't need to be, Itachi's plan was to take her to them.

"No." Itachi answered. She gasped and turned to look at him.

"Misaki." The man said only a few inches from her, only a second ago he far away from them. She turn and found his handsome face staring at her with a mixture of relief and fear clearly visible in his eyes. She stared at him for several seconds, wishing she could recognise him because something told her she really should. Her lips parted for second before she closed her mouth and gulped.

"I'm sorry, wh- who are you?" She asked him. His eyes widened for a moment and the next second he was lounging at Itachi with a kunai in his hand. Itachi was able to pull his own kunai out and pulled her backwards with the hand still holding onto her, and when their weapons clashed the faced each other, both men sharingan activated.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her." the man bit each word menacingly while applying more pressure on Itachi, who simply stayed silent.

"Stop! There's no need to fight!" She yelled while trying to move past Itachi. "He didn't do anything! I lost my memories before he found me, it's not his fault."

"You really don't remember?" The man asked without taking his eyes off Itachi. "You were the one that said that you would beat some sense into him the moment you found him for betraying us and the village, and yet, you are now holding his hand? After all he did to _you_? After all that happened after he left?"

"Stay back." Itachi ordered her. "This is between Shisui and me." She gasped at hearing the familiar name. It was the name she said when she woke up from her nightmare, the person who caught Misaki when she fell but also the one that was close to Itachi.

"Misaki. Look at me." Shisui said to her and she did, seeing two sharingan with a slightly different pattern from Itachi's. She felt a pressure in mind as Shisui went through her most recent memories. There was no pain this time, unlike the time that Itachi did since this time there were recollections to go through. She wanted to push the invasion away because she knew what Shisui would be seeing, the intimate moments she had with Itachi. However, she didn't have to, Shisui stopped abruptly and there was rage in his eyes.

"You bastard!" He screamed at Itachi at the same time he went to attack him. Itachi pushed her away before Shisui could reach him.

The two men that once were like brothers were now fighting with everything they had. She could barely follow their movements. The the other shinobi seemed to have the same problem from the look in their faces, except the blond man who was eyeing with a worried look in his face. A sudden burst of energy made her turn her face back to the fight where Itachi's Susanoo was now having the upper hand on Shisui's Susanoo. Shisui managed to break the hold and step back but Itachi was having none of that, swinging a gigantic sword at him at the same time that Shisui was preparing his counter attack. Her eyes widened. They were both going in for the kill. She could feel both their intents run through her whole body.

Gathering her chakra Misaki quickly moved to stand between them just as their strikes were about to reach her. She couldn't let them engage, there was too much energy and she was sure that on contact the whole place would be destroyed and she didn't want anything to happen to them or the other shinobi around them. She saw a stricken look in Itachi's eyes as he realised it was too late for him to stop now. Not even half a second had passed and there was probably less than that before both their attack will reach her but she had to try something. However, just as she was beginning to gather all her chakra, a yellow blur caught her eyes and before she could look she found herself in a completely different part of the forest.

"Wh- what?" She asked turning around and finding the blond man's hand on her left shoulder. Behind him, the rest of the shinobi were looking at her. An colossal explosion probably many miles away erupted at the same time that the blond's hold tightened in her shoulder. It sounded even worse that she had imagined and she wanted to go back to them.

"They'll be alright, Misaki." The handsome blond man told her. "I swear one day you're going to give me a heart attack with your tendency to jump on the line of fire at the worst moment. Usually I can see the moment you begin to move but you've gotten faster and I almost missed it."

"Sorry…" she didn't know what else to say.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go back to them. They don't seem to be in great shape."

In a blink of an eye she found herself in the same spot she was a minute ago. Although, the area had been blasted and the two men responsible were lying on the floor on opposite sides of her. Her eyes darted from Itachi to Shisui, who was trying to sit up with much difficulty. Itachi's strangled cough brought her eyes back to him before running to his side to help him sit up. As soon as she did he coughed up some blood.

"Itachi!" she yelled and tore some of her shirt to wipe the blood from his face.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He said to her.

"Enough of that. Everyone is telling me not to worry, but how could I not? I can't even begin to understand how you both are even alive. Everything in the 5 mile radius had been wiped out…"

"Shisui, stay still." She heard the girl with the pink hair order Shisui. She was kneeling next to him with a green glow emanating from the hands she had placed over his chest.

"What is she doing to him?" Misaki asked while looking at the scene. Shisui frowned while the girl turn to look at her with a shocked expression.

"Medical ninjutsu. Sakura is a medic ninja so she can heal injuries." Itachi answered.

"What the hell have you done to her? Have you wiped her memory clean?" Shisui shouted at Itachi. "Do you think you can really get her back like that? She belongs by my side!"

Misaki, Sakura and Itachi gasped loudly.

* * *

Hi! And thanks for reading!

Sorry for the delay in updating the story, I've been quite busy lately but I should be able to finish the story soon :)


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

"What?" Misaki and Itachi asked at the same time.

"Eh?" Naruto asked confused, looking from Misaki and Shisui and back a few times. He moved closer to where Sakura was treating Shisui. "But… in our world Misaki and-"

*THUMP*

"Oww! Sakura? But why?" Naruto asked Sakura while rubbing his chin where Sakura had just hit him before going back to heal Shisui's injuries.

"Naruto! You're so dense sometimes." She replied. Naruto glanced towards his father and the grey haired shinobi before looking back at Sakura, who lowered her eyes and shook her head from side to side.

"How could you?" Itachi yelled at Shisui and then tried to stand up. Misaki hold his shoulders to keep him where he was. His whole body was trembling from what it looked like rage.

"How could _I_?" Shisui asked back. "How could I, what? Betray you? Is that what you mean? Because that would be funny coming from you. _You_ betrayed her, I was there five years ago when she found you in on of the Uchiha girl's home. I was the one that caught her when she fell fell off the balcony because it hurt so much for her that it felt like I could actually hear her heart breaking. _You_ left the village and betrayed us all, including your brother Sasuke and me, who you called your best friend. While you went and joined the Akatsuki _I_ stayed by her side.

You have no idea… the look in her face back then, the emptiness behind her eyes… it was too painful to see. It was only after Ts-... after maybe seven months later that most of the light was back in her eyes. However, even after all these years, I don't fail to notice the flashes of pain that she gets when something reminds her of you. She never forgave you, and she will make you pay for what you did once she goes back to being herself. And I will get her back, even if I have to use my dōjutsu to undo whatever is you did to erase her memories."

Shisui stood silent while staring at Itachi who was staring back at him while breathing hard. He opened his mouth a few times, only to close it back without replying to him. When his breathing was in control, he looked at Naruto before addressing him.

"In your world, is Misaki happy?" Itachi asked.

Taken aback at the question, it took Naruto a few seconds to reply. During that time, Misaki pondered about the meaning of different worlds. "Yes, she is…" he answered in a soft tone.

"I gather she and I aren't together back there either. It seems that no matter the world we live in, were not destined to end up together one reason or another. I just hope I didn't mess it up as bad over there."

Naruto pressed his lips together and he noticed something similar to sorrow in his eyes.

"You probably did." Shisui retaliated.

"Stop. Please." Misaki begged Shisui. You're arguing about who you think I am. But I'm not Misaki, and Itachi didn't do anything about my memories. So please, stop this fighting.

Shisui frowned before turning to look at Naruto who moved closer to to Misaki.

"Can I see your arm?" Naruto asked her. Even though she was confused at the request, she stood up after making sure that Itachi could hold himself and faced the blond teen. "Could you extend your left arm?"

Misaki did as he asked. The sleeve of her shirt fell back, revealing the tattoo on her inner forearm. Naruto looked from the feather and eagle tattoo back to her, a smile appearing on his face.

"It is you, Misaki sensei!" he exclaimed. "Shisui said the Misaki of this world doesn't have a summoning tattoo unlike you!" Naruto added while softly grabbing her wrist with one hand and pointing at it with the other. But on contact, Misaki felt a shock run through her heart as flashes of her memories returned to her faster than she could grasp. One after another, she could see them clearly with her eyes that were aimed at Naruto but could no longer see him.

The memories were all from times that she had spent with Naruto. From the first time that she saw him as a baby during Minato, the Fourth Hokage's funeral, who unlike the blond ninja standing behind Naruto, had died saving the village. Other memories took her to the times that she took care of Naruto as a toddler, feeding and bathing him before tucking him in bed and running her fingers through his soft hair. The smile on the infant was still the same as the current Naruto. She was still a child herself back then, only about seven years old, but she enjoyed taking care of him after her father had agreed with the Third Hokage to keep Naruto in his home until he could live by himself. However, since her mother had passed, he found it difficult to attend to the child's need and thus, she had done most of it instinctively.

The next memories were short encounters with Naruto from an older child to a young teenager, until one that wasn't a cheerful memory. It was Naruto and Kakashi, the grey haired man next to Minato, fighting against Itachi.

Misaki gasped and took half a step back, breaking the contact with Naruto and stopping the flow of memories.

"Misaki sensei, are you alright? You spaced out for a few seconds there." Naruto told her.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah?"

"I remember you." She said smiling. Naruto's eyes widened.

"You do? You got your memories back?" He smiled back.

"Just my memories with you but at least is something. When you held my arm I could remember our times together."

"You did?" Shisui asked while standing up and walking towards her. He reached out for her hand and held it between both of his while looking into her eyes, waiting. Misaki held her breath for a few seconds, however, there were no memories rushing back to her mind.

"I don't think that would work, Shisui." Minato told him. "Otherwise she would've remember Itachi while she was holding his hand. I think it only worked with Naruto because he's from her world."

Misaki gulped at the look of disappointment in Shisui's face just as Naruto grabbed her elbow and pulled her towards the forest. In that brief moment before she lost contact with Shisui, the face of a younger Shisui flashed in her mind. The boy had a closed eye smile on his face while showing her a thumbs up with one hand. It was a memory from the time she mastered the shuriken technique he had just shown her. She was only five but it felt like it had only been yesterday.

Warmth filled her chest. She gasped and looked back at him but as she was about to say that it had worked, Naruto interrupted her.

"There's only one way to get back to yourself and that's the same way we're can only go back to our world. We need to defeat Madara. We have something in the village that we can use soon so we have to back."

Misaki looked back at where Itachi was sitting on the ground but as she turner, the reflection of something metal passed inches away from her face. It was a flying kunai aimed at Naruto.

Minato appeared next to Naruto and hit the kunai with one of its own, throwing it off course. They turned to the place it has come from.

"Well, well, well…" a member of the Akatsuki she had never seen before said. His hair was slicked back and he was was wearing the same black robe with red patterns as Itachi but no shirt underneath it. Alongside Deidara and Sasori, a very muscular and tall member of the Akatsuki was standing next to him with a black mask over his face hiding everything but his green eyes, while a white hood covered his hair.

"... I guess even for you, Itachi, the three most fastest shinobi of the Five Great Nations are too much to handle." The man said arrogantly towards Itachi's injured form. "Where's that new partner Deidara has been going on about?"

"Three? Hidan, is the pink haired girl _that_ kunoichi?" Deidara asked him.

"Are you blind, you idiot? She's standing right next to them!" The man named Hidan answered, pointing at Misaki, making her eyes widened.

"Her!? She's the fastest kunoichi of the leaf? I knew Itachi was up to something, he definitely knew who she was and kept it hidden from us." Deidara said narrowing his eyes at Itachi.

"Wait, she's the new partner that's been going around with Itachi, the one with amnesia?" Hidan asked

"Yes, that's her."

"Hmmp, so she doesn't remember our last encounter…" Hidan's eyes turn to Itachi. "You're going to be my next sacrifice." He said before running towards him with his triple-bladed scythe in hand. Itachi's chakra was still exhausted so he was unable to move quickly but knowing it was a trap he turn to look at the shinobi of the Leaf.

"Shisui, stop her!" he yelled at the same time she noticed Misaki disappearing from the group to stand before Hidan with a kunai raised in front of her to stop his attack. As he was turning to look back to where Misaki stood, Shisui appeared next to her not even half a second later but then it was already too late. While Misaki had stopped the blade to cause any injury to herself or him, the tip of the curved edge had grazed the top of her left shoulder. She didn't seem worried about it, it was only a small cut. However, she didn't remember Hidan's jutsu, one that only require a small amount of his opponent's blood, one that sealed one's life in his hands.

Shisui took her back to where he had been, leaving him standing alone in front of Hidan. He reached out to grab his scythe with the little energy he had left but Hidan took a step back and looked down at him with a smirk on his face.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

"Minato sensei, should we attack? Kakashi asked his sensei. "It's four of us against four of them, considering that Shisui's chakra levels are very low. Although we now have Misaki on our side." Minato looked at him but Naruto answered first.

"No! Dad, you should teleport us out of here. It took two teams in our world to defeat Hidan and his partner Kakuzu alone."

"Not so fast." Hidan announced, bringing the tip of his blade close to him and running his index finger over it. His finger ended up covered in blood. "Hand her over or she'll be dead in no time." He said pointing his bloody finger towards the group. Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened, the later running to Misaki's side and looking at the cut on her arm. Naruto grinded his teeth.

"What is he talking about? Minato, let's get out of here." Shisui asked, moving closer to Misaki.

"Shisui, wait! He's got Misaki's blood." Naruto said. When Shisui frowned and looked at him questionly, he continued. "Hidan can link his body with the person whose blood he's taken and any damage done to him will be also inflicted in that person. To make things worse, he's immortal so if he does the link he can easily kill Misaki by simply stabbing himself on a vital spot."

"Damn it!" Shisui yelled. He seemed to think over their options.

"Shisui, hand her over. Don't force Hidan to make the link." Itachi told him, making Shisui's eyes twitch. But by the tone of his voice he knew was only concerned for Misaki.

"It's ok." Misaki started, taking a step towards the Akatsuki members. "Don't get so riled up, Shisui. Remember, at the end of the day I'm not the Misaki of this world that you know."

"I know, but-"

"Naruto, go back to the village. I know you guys will find a way." Misaki told the blond shinobi.

"You know it, Misaki sensei! We will defeat Madara and that will bring us all back to our world." Naruto looked at his father and he teleported them all out of there before the Akatsuki could react.

"Oh, well. That's no fun." Hidan complained and then moved closer to Misaki, placing his left arm over her shoulders. "At least I got the one that got away last time. You and that Uchiha that just left you here ruined one of our missions a while back. I've been meaning to make you pay for that." He said menacingly.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Hidan. We should take these two back and let Nagao decide the outcome." Kakazu told him.

"Agh, you always have to ruin my fun." Hidan complained. "Come on, Itachi. Move your traitor ass. I'm not carrying you."

Misaki moved out of Hidan's hold and grabbed Itachi's arm to help him stand up. They walked in silence for a few hours. When it was dusk, Itachi spoke.

"I'm sorry, Misaki." He said.

"For what?"

"For keeping the truth from you and keeping you in the Akatsuki. I was being selfish and now your life is in danger." Itachi answered.

"You don't have to apologize to me. It's the Misaki of this world you should say sorry to. What you did to her… was awful. But she certainly loved you, so I'm sure she'd forgive you if you asked for it."

"Thank you."

Misaki and Itachi were standing in front of Nagato and Konan while the rest of the members of the Akatsuki stayed on the side.

"What happened?" Nagato asked looking at Itachi's injured form.

"Itachi is a traitor! He has been keeping quiet about her true identity. He knew from the beginning she was a kunoichi of the Leaf, one he had worked with before, and didn't say anything about it!" Deidara answered instead, pointing at Misaki.

"Did you cause all that damage to Itachi then?"

"N- No, when we got to them he was already like that. It seemed that the Leaf did. They had Misaki though." Deidara answered.

"Misaki? As in Misaki of the Leaf? That was _her_ all this time? Hmm… Then it doesn't seem that he became an ally of the Leaf. I image they wanted to take her back."

"Yes, but-"

"Sasori, heal Itachi." Nagato ordered.

"But, Nagato! He's been lying to us all along!" Deidara complained.

"I can see that. Nonetheless, hiding her true identity from us didn't compromise the Akatsuki. He's still one of us." Nagato's tone was final.

Sasori's true form appeared from the puppet body he was hiding in. He looked like a kid, with short mousy red hair and brown eyes. Misaki watched him with wide eyes as he approached Itachi and laid him the floor, quickly applying medical ninjutsu.

"My grandmother taught me how to heal basic injures long time ago but I'll do my best." Sasori informed him.

Itachi's eyes were still hard on Nagato. "What about Misaki?" He asked.

"She's a kunoichi of the Leaf and she doesn't have a scratch on her. I imagine she was willing to go back to her village, did she not?" Nagato asked but didn't wait for anyone to answer. "I will decide her fate tomorrow. Sasori, you will keep an eye on them both." And with that he turned and left the room. The rest of the members followed suit, leaving her alone with Itachi and Sasori.

"Hey, I get to live another day, huh?" She said smiling down at Itachi but she knew it wouldn't fool him.

"At least Hidan's hold on you will be gone now. The blood he had from you has now dried up." He answered without looking at her.

"Don't worry about me. I know Naruto will find a way."

"I really hope so."

Misaki opened her eyes. There was a bit of sunlight coming through the small opening on the wall. The muscles on her back were aching for falling asleep sitting on the chair next to Itachi's bed. When she looked up, Itachi was on a sitting position. He seemed lost in thought but at least his chakra levels were getting back to normal.

Itachi turned his face towards her with his eyes closed. She felt his chakra gathering, making her feel uneasy. As he slowly opened his eyes she realised his Mangekyo Sharingan was activated. As she gasped, everything around her disappeared, she couldn't see anything, she couldn't hear, smell or feel her own body until Itachi's voice spoke.

"Don't fight my Sharingan. I want to show you why I was selfish enough to keep you by my side, why you feel this connection between us even though you have no recollection of your past. You'd probably recover _your_ memories soon enough but I'd like you know my side."

Itachi waited for a moment and since Misaki didn't say anything, he proceed to show her his memories.

Bright light blinded Misaki for a second forcing her eyes closed but as the light dimmed she opened them slowly and finding herself in a familiar training ground in the forest. Looking at her surroundings she spotted a little girl of maybe 8 years old standing by a tree. When she turned around at the sound of something coming from her right side Misaki realised that she was looking at a younger version of herself. She followed her line of vision to find a young Itachi of about the same age running from the folds of the forest to young Misaki and stopping at arms length while trying to catch his breath. Misaki's eyes widen before she throws her arms around him, surprising him.

"Itachi, I missed you so much!" She says, making him gasp. After a few seconds his arms wrap around her and brings her closer to him. He buries his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. Itachi notices Misaki's body shaking and some wetness falling down his neck.

"Hey, hey." He says while rubbing his hand up and down her back. "I've only been going for a few days. Why, why are you-" he says while trying to move back but Misaki holds on tightly. She doesn't want him to see her crying.

"You left almost a week ago without saying anything. I didn't know where you were, I looked everywhere for you. You always let me know beforehand if you're going for a mission. I thought you left…" Misaki says between sobs. Itachi gulps.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have the chance to tell you. There was a lead on the masked man that killed Tenma and I left quickly trying to find who this man is. I promise I won't leave the village without you knowing, Misaki. Okay? You don't have to cry."

Misaki lets go of Itachi and quickly wipes her tears away. Itachi smiles at her, bringing a smile on her face. "Okay. I'm sorry I made a fool of myself… since becoming a Genin you've been gone for so long and I- I needed to see you, that's all." She says looking down at the ground embarrassed.

Itachi lifts her face by placing a finger under her chin. "And I need to see you too. I came running to you before I even went to hand my report to the Hokage or see my family. Even if I'm gone, just remember that I will always come back for you."

 _That's the first promise I made to you, to Misaki. I broke that promise 5 years ago when I went on the mission ordered by the Hokage to infiltrate the Akatsuki. It was shortly after betraying you with another girl and we just had a silly fight because I was being foolish and jealous at the closeness between you and Shisui. I knew it was time to confess but I chose to avoid you, unaware that I would be gone for so long. Months and months passed, and all I could think about was to come back for you but I never did. And then, you appeared before my eyes and I didn't want to let you go._ Itachi's voice said from somewhere in the back of her mind.

 _We were only kids, there were no romantic feelings there but even so, you already looked at me like I was your sun without knowing that you were my light in the darkness, just looking at you I felt warmth and a pull to be always close to you. I knew you were special and I wanted to be with you, always._

The image before her eyes started spinning, blending the trees, earth and sky. As it slowed down, she was looking at a completely different scene. There were unfamiliar buildings on one side, on the other a dark forest, partly obscured by a very thick mist and in the middle of it all, Itachi, in his teenage years, dressed with a grey flask jacket, a katana attached to his back and a white mask with red drawings on his left hand, stood in in the center of a group of injured shinobis who were dressed similarly. Two of them were lying unconscious on the floor while the other three were struggling to sit up.

"Mizunoe, heal Baku first and get him to help you heal the rest. I'll chase after the group of shinobi from the Land of Mist with Misaki. As soon as you're able, catch up to us." Itachi commands.

"I'll come with you as well." A female shinobi says. Her face is covered by a mask so only her ice blue coloured hair is visible.

"No. Kagura, you stay with them and keep them safe from any other surprise attack." Itachi replies.

"Tsk. I don't care about this lot. I want to get those bastards and break their little bones." Kagura says coldly.

"Captain. Please let Kagura go with you. Three against six are better odds than just the two of you." Mizunoe requests.

"Those are my orders. You know the consequences of failing to follow through. Misaki and I will handle this." He replies.

"Yes, sir!" Mizunoe and Kagura reply, the latter with little conviction.

Itachi moves deep into the forest and stops behind a young Misaki. Without turning to look at the person approaching her she speaks. "Are they alright?"

"They will be. Let's take down the enemy so we can finally go home. The Root ANBU were lucky to be on our way to the village." He says.

"What's the rush? One more day or two won't make much difference after being away for almost a month now."

Itachi shrugs at her as she turns to look at him questioningly.

 _The day after that was your 15th birthday. I had a present prepared for you, a promise necklace I wanted to give you after confessing my feelings for you. It had been months since I wanted to do so but I wanted to make it special for you._ Itachi's voice explained in her mind.

"Fine. I sense six enemy shinobi with a slight more than an average amount of chakra. The must've used a very well thought tactic to surprise five ANBU. Let's turn the tables on them." Misaki says as she leaps from the branch she was standing on to one a good twenty trees away.

"Show off." Itachi mutters as she follows after her.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

A couple of hours later, Misaki stops on a branch hidden by the shadows and Itachi crouches next to her, observing the shinobi of the Hidden Mist below them. They seem to be discussion some matter, unaware of their presence thanks to their skills to mask their chakra.

"You take the tree on the left and I take the other three? Do you want to confuse them with a genjutsu first?" Misaki whispers.

"No need. They seem ordinary, we can take them straight on." Itachi replies as he jumps towards the group with his katana aimed at the one closest to him. Misaki's eyes follows him with a hint of surprise. It's not like Itachi to jump into the enemy's radar without a well thought tactic in place. As the blade slices through the opponent, the shinobi disappears in a cloud of smoke. Itachi's eyes widened and instantly activate his Sharingan and take count of his surroundings. His eyes move from side to side frantically, seeming to put Misaki on high alert. Her body moves slightly as she prepares to attack but she stops at the fierce look Itachi gives her.

The remaining five shinobi move to attack in unison, Itachi jumps back, quickly making hand signs and throwing a fireball jutsu at them. They all disappear in the same way, they were all clones all along.

Three shinobi suddenly appear next to Itachi and they begin a fierce battle against him. Itachi's speed and kenjutsu skills are put to test. When another two members of the enemy come into view from another angle, Itachi steps back and creates a volley of small fireballs sent flying to them. However, the last member, an older man wearing a black eye-patch on his right eye, moves forward and creates a giant water wall that stops his fire attacks.

Unable to stay out of fight anymore, Misaki jumps from her position and using the flicker technique she quickly moves towards Itachi but she seems to come to an abrupt stop in mid-air, hitting an invisible barrier that burns her on contact, causing a shock to run all over her body and sending her flying back against the a large tree trunk, causing it to snap.

Itachi clenches his teeth, fighting the urge to turn and look at the place where Misaki's body has hit the tree so hard that the impact has made such noise that could be probably heard from quite far away.

As the blurriness slowly fades from her eyes, she focuses on Itachi's face, seeing his jaw tight and his fists closed. "Misaki, get out of here and deliver the scroll to the Hokage. Now." Itachi orders through clenched teeth.

"Ha. Like that would ever happen." She mutters as she stands up unsteadily. Her knees shakes slightly as the electrical shock from the barrier still has not yet dissipated.

"I was afraid you would say that. Listen, this man has a Byakugan under that eye-patch. He was probably aware of us following them from the beginning. We were probably the targets all along and we walked straight into their trap. I'm sorry I lost focus but the only way our mission succeeds is if you leave now." Itachi pleads.

"Stop it! Itachi, I don't care if the ANBU protocol is the mission above the comrades. I won't leave you behind, and the enemy knows that as well. They wouldn't separate me from you with some sort of barrier. It's the only way they can take my speed out of the question. _You_ were the target all along, probably they want to add your Sharingan to their collection and there's no way I'll let that happen."

"There's no use." The man with the eye-patch starts. "The impact from my barrier has already disrupted the nerves in her muscles and her chakra network. She won't be running away anywhere."

Misaki gasps and as the man has just said, her leg trembles with the effort to take a step forward. Her right arm raises up slowly as grabs hold of the katana strapped to her back. As she begins to draw her sword, one of the man's clone materialises next to her.

"Too late." He says close to her ear and places the cold blade of his kunai on her throat. "The scroll or your life."

At the moment, Itachi creates a gigantic fireball and throws it at the enemy in front of him. The flames are trapped inside the barrier, taking its half sphere shape until there's little space untouched by his jutsu.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? You'll burn as well!" One of the shinobi screams. The men standing next to him look at him as if waiting for something. He starts to make a hand sign at the same time man with the eye-patch weaves similar set of hand signs to the ones he had done earlier.

"Kiji, don't!" The clone next to Misaki yells as he notices the panicked shinobi's hand sign.

A wall of water raises up and blocks the flames from reaching the adversary but they do a second too late as the barrier is released and the flames are free to roam and dying eventually.

Itachi doesn't waste a second and moves to Misaki's side piercing the clones body with the tip of his katana, noticing the smirk on his face before he turns into a cloud of smoke.

"Can you move?" He asks her.

"A bit."

"Hold on to me."

"We can't outrun them if you have to carry me." Misaki complains as Itachi puts her arm around his shoulders. She notices something on her back as the smell of something burning reaches her nostrils. She gasps as soon as she realises what it is. The clone has place an explosive tag on her lower back knowing that Itachi would come to her aid.

She shoves Itachi away from her with as much strength as she can master but manages to push him back a couple of steps. Itachi stands still for a moment at the unexpected turn of events and watches with wide eyes as she makes a hand sign with eyes closed in deep concentration. Misaki vanishes from his sight and not a second later an explosion is heard somewhere behind him but not too far away. His heart skips a beat while watching the enemy shinobi retreating. His Sharingan wasn't their target after all, it was either Misaki or the scroll she had on her back pouch pocket and the one he stupidly pointed in her direction. The scroll would definitely be destroyed now and Misaki...

Running towards the sound of the blast he finds Misaki's completely still and burned body on the ground. The smell of burnt skin and hair reaches his nostrils and burns his eyes. Her vest lays a couple of metres to her right, but not far enough to avoid the explosion that was attached to it. For the position of her body it seems she just managed to unzip her vest and remove one of the sleeves as it must've exploded, sending her towards the ground, face down with the impact.

Kneeling next to her and carefully turning her body he places her head on his thighs and brushes the hair off her beautiful face. The uneven sound coming her mouth as she finds it hard to breath petrifies him on the spot. One of the lungs or maybe both has probably collapsed.

His shoulders slump as his head falls forward while his body shakes from the fear of losing the girl he wanted to confess his feelings to a moment ago, but instead had put under unnecessary risk when he lowered his guard. Tears start streaming down his face and onto hers when he feels something warm touch his cheek. It's Misaki's hand.

"Are you okay?" She asks so low he wonders if he's even imagining it.

A dark chuckle escapes his mouth. Leave it to her to worry about him in this situation. "Yes. Don't waste your breath, I'll bring Mizunoe here as fast as possible and he'll heal you." Itachi informs her.

The hand on his face moves down and grabs hold of the collar of his vest. "No, don't leave me please. Promise me you'll stay here. Itachi, I'm cold, please keep me warm." She begs.

A shudder runs through his whole body. He knows she needs immediate medical assistance but at the same time he doesn't want to let her side. "I won't go anywhere, I promise. But you have to promise me you won't die while we wait for the medical ninja to get here. Alright? There's so much I want to tell you…"

"I _know_." She whispers.

"Huh?" He asks confused.

"I _know_." She repeats. "I've always known. Since I realised I felt the same way. Itachi, you're my soulmate."

Itachi can't hold the sob escaping his lips. "I'm sorry. I should've known better. Because of me you're hurt but I promise you I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. Do you hear me? I won't…"

 _Two more promises that I broke: to never leave your side and allowing anyone to hurt you. When I left,_ I _was the one that caused you so much pain._ Itachi's voice inform the current Misaki as she continues to watch the teenage pair.

Misaki pulls at Itachi's vest, bringing his face close to her. Itachi breaks the short distance and places his lips against hers, and stays like that, unmoving, letting the current of emotions run through them. They've never seem to need words so share the important things, it seems.

The current Itachi and Misaki watch the scene from a close distance, still invisible to their past selves. She has her fingertips placed on her lips, as if her feelings are connected to young Misaki.

 _Our first kiss. I wished it would've been under better circumstances and yet, it was beautiful. I felt whole in that instant._ Misaki hears Itachi say in her mind as he looks at her but doesn't open his mouth to voice his words out loud.

While looking at him, a faded image shows before her eyes, it's Itachi face, however in a different place. Behind him, there's a family kitchen, from Itachi's family home, she realises. The Itachi from this memory is smiling at her and slowly leans over the kitchen counter towards her, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

Misaki gasps and holds her breath as the memory from that day comes crashing down on her, the weight of it all filling her chest. The current Itachi is still looking at her with wide eyes and reading from her mind all the memories coming back to her at the same time. Her heart is hammering in her chest by the time they do, her breathing so ragged and her mind dizzy.

" _Our_ first kiss." She says in a low tone. "Different world. Still the same feeling and intensity."

The Genjutsu is broken and Misaki finds herself back on the room where Itachi is resting on the bed. Their eyes locked while neither of them dare seem to say the first word. The pull towards him intensifies in each breath she takes and finally she realised that there's no need to fight it. She leans over the bed at the same time Itachi extends his arm and grabs the back of her neck, pulling closer. Their mouths clash together, her lips crushed against his as the warm air coming from his nose tickles her skin while he's breathing hard. The moment seems to go on forever, her feeling towards this man washing over her and gripping her heart in such a strong vice that takes her breath away.

She then realises something is different. Not only she's gained another piece of her memories, there's something pulling in her heart, like it has been torn into two. While she knows that she loves this man before her, she now _feels_ that there's something wrong in doing so. Breaking the contact between their mouths, she lowers her head, leaning her forehead against his and takes deep breaths.

"What is it?" He asks.

"I don't think we should be doing this." She answers.

"I don't care we're from different worlds. I don't see it like that. I believe we're different sides of the same coin. You're still you and I'm still me, only we've lived through different circumstances. The love we share is still the same, don't you see, Misaki?"

"I do. But there's something else. Although I can't really tell what it is. It could be that in my world my heart now belongs to someone else or it could be nothing. I'm sorry, Itachi. I can't ignore that." She says and then moves away from his bed.

"Of course. I understand. It would make sense… if I wasn't in your life for one reason or another. Nonetheless, I'm glad I got this little time with you. It's been like a dream come true"

"It has…" Misaki says after a few seconds. She stands up and turns to the door when Deidara opens it and walks into the room.

"We need to go to Konoha now. The Hokage has summoned us the provide immediate aid against the masked man. We're leaving in five."

* * *

Note: in case you're wondering, yes, there is a reason why Misaki feels like that. I was going to write about her remembering more of her past but that would be a spoiler if you haven't read 'Misaki of the Leaf' (you can find this on my profile) so if you haven't read it, now you know where you can find the answer :)

Please feel free to ask questions! I'm having very little time to write lately so I keep rushing and trying to write everything running through my mind quickly and might miss facts or explanations that I think I've written down already. I do double check but maybe not as well as I should but I know some of you are eager to find out the rest of the story so that's why I still publish when the chapters have not been polished. I hope you can still enjoy it!

Ja mata ne


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

 _~ Konoha ~_

"I'll report to the Hokage. You guys can go home and rest." Minato tells the group. "Naruto, please let Kushina know that we're back, I know she'd be worried."

Naruto and Sakura glance back at him and proceed to walk towards the main road of the village from the main gates, leaving him with Shisui and his former student Kakashi. Shisui is still looking back at the gates and seems lost in thought. "Will you be alright, Shisui? Or do you need us to take you to the medical unit?" Kakashi asks him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be fine, I just need to rest. Sakura was able to heal my injuries. I'm just worried…" Shisui answers but closes his eyes as if he were in pain.

"She's going to be fine like she always is. We'll get her back." Kakashi tells him.

"I just- the look in her face… there was a light in her eyes that I haven't seen in years. I know she's from Naruto's world and yet, I wonder how much pain _our_ Misaki has been hiding all this time. I'm worried she's been putting on a mask to conceal her true feelings, after all, she's always been one of the best at ANBU infiltration missions." Shisui says while remembering the first time Misaki joined him in one of those said missions. "I could never really read her after _he_ left. She always had a smile on her face, she always look happy and full energy. After a while I stopped thinking it was all a facade, I mean, how long can someone pretend to be happy when he's not? Everybody breaks at some point. But she didn't, not once."

 _~ Four years ago. Hidden Stone Village ~_

 _Shisui is shirtless and sitting at the small desk provided in the guest house he's staying. He's writing a report for the Hokage, same as the last two he has sent, he informs her that there is nothing to report so far. He hasn't had any contact with Misaki after they started their two-man mission. His duty is to obtain the gathered intel from her, report back to the village and assist his comrade should she need so._

 _The last 6 weeks have felt like an eternity. Wondering around this village as a civilian with nothing to do but wait. This is not the longest assignment_

 _he's had so far but it has been the longest time he had spent without seeing Misaki. Their three-man team had been reduced to two when the third member, Itachi, had become a missing-nin and joined the Akatsuki. A three-man team is not required for ANBU's missions unlike most ninja ones so the Hokage has not assigned a replacement for them. It wasn't needed anyway, Misaki and him where more than capable to complete their mission without_ that _traitor._

 _If he would've been still in the picture, they probably wouldn't be taking this mission, Shisui thought. During the last few weeks before he disappeared he became a very jealous person when it came to Misaki. As soon as a guy would talk to her he would become over protective, even when she would talk to him. So there was no way he would've let her take on this mission where she had to seduce the captain of the village's elite security. But he understood why imagining her kissing, touching and being touched by some random man would make Itachi see red._

 _He throws the paper to the side as images of Misaki doing just that flashed through his eyes. Pressing the palms of his hands against his closed eyes he tries to erase them._

 _The sound of the rustling paper that was on the floor and a swift breeze against his skin makes him go on alert mode in less than a second. Standing up and ready to strike he finds himself face to face with Misaki, who's just appeared in his room using the flicker technique. Watching him holding the pencil he was using a second ago as if it was a weapon brings a smile to her face._

 _"Misaki…" He breathes and in two steps he's right in front of her with his arms around her shoulders and bringing her to his chest. The heat of her body warms his cool skin, it feels good so he tightens the hold a bit more._

 _"Can't- breathe-" she mutters._

 _"Sorry." He says a bit embarrassed, opening his arms wide and losing the contact with her. He scratches the back of his head with his hand. "I was just so happy to see you're back. How are you? Take a seat, Let me get a t-shirt and I'll make some tea." Shisui says as he turns around to pick up the t-shirt hung on the back of his seat._

 _"Yes, please. It should be a crime to look so good without a t-shirt on…" He hears her mutter as she takes a seat on his bed while he prepares the green tea. "Have you sent the bi-weekly report already?" She asks him in a serious tone when he's pouring the water on two ceramic mugs._

 _"I was writing it now. What is it?" He asks, handing a mug to her and placing the other one on the table. Taking a new sheet he looks at her expectantly._

 _"I've found out the identity of one of the members of the Akatsuki group. It's no other that the Third Tsuchikage's favourite pupil. I'm still trying to confirm whether he's been sent as an infiltrator or if he joined of his own accord. For what I've gathered so far, he stole of of this village's kinjutsu that allows him to knead chakra into substances and use them as explosive artifacts. His name is Deidara, only 16 but he was already part of the Explosions Corps before he became a mercenary ninja."_

 _"What makes you think he could be an infiltrator and not just a shinobi gone rogue?" Shisui queries although he can guess her answer._

 _"Just making sure we don't miss any possibilities I guess..." She says breaking eye contact with him and looking through the window._

 _"_ He _would've told at least one of us."_

 _"I know. He promised…" Misaki whispers. She takes a deep breath before turning to look at him. "Please inform the Hokage that there are no imminent plans against the Sand but I still have to get access to the high classified scrolls. I calculate I'll be able to do so in the next week or so."_

 _Shisui finish writing everything down, rolls the scroll and seals it with a sealing jutsu that shrinks its size. He looks at the window as a black crow lands on its edge. Attaching the message to one if it's legs he sends the crow towards Konoha. Turning back he finds Misaki staring at the place the crow had just been._

 _"That was a lot of intel. Well done." He congratulates her and she smiles weakly but says nothing. "How are you?" He asks her again._

 _"Great. The mission is moving forward quicker than I expected. We might be able to complete it soon and return home." She answers._

 _"I'm not asking about the mission, Misaki. I'm asking_ you _, not my fellow ANBU comrade. This is the first time you had to use seduction as part of an infiltration. Are you okay? You can talk to me, you know?"_

 _They stare into each other eyes for a few moments as the silent questions seem to sink into her. When they do, she looks down at her cup of tea and takes a tentative sip._

 _"Kuro, captain of the Tsuchikage's elite security detail, has taken a quick liking to me. I was surprise to see his feelings developing so fast though. I didn't have to use the 'techniques' Lady Tsunade taught me." She answers and Shisui chuckles._

 _"Who in his right mind would turn you down? You don't need any special performance to get a man's affection, you just have to be yourself and that's why the Hokage chose you for this time-sensitive mission."_

 _"Maybe you're right. Well, I was able to get hold of some of the security scrolls when he invited me to his home." She adds. One of Shisui's eyes twitches slightly. "I was able to look through his office when he fell asleep, so I left his bed and tiptoed my way around his place." The hold he had on the window frame tightens. "Do you want me to continue?" Shisui looks down at the floor. "I_ know _I can talk to you, Shisui. But in this case, it would be best if we didn't." She says in a clipped tone._

 _Letting his shoulders drop he moves to her side, sits next to her with his hands over his thighs but stares at the wall in front of him. Misaki places a hand over his and observes his profile. "Any news from the village?" She asks him in a soft tone._

 _He smiles before turning to look at her. "No news, so everyone is fine."_

 _"Do you think the little one will remember me after all this time?" She asks him._

 _"Of course. That kind of bond is one that never breaks, no matter the distance nor the time." Misaki smiles back at him before standing up. She places a quick kiss on his forehead that he wasn't expected as his eyes widen._

 _"I have to go. Kuro is meeting me in the main square in about ten minutes. I'll report back as soon as a can." He opens his mouth but before he can reply Misaki is gone._

 _Misaki is walking in the main street of the village. There are many people around her, looking at the shops or buying snacks from the local vendors. The place is filled with laughter and the smells of various foods. One of the stalls catches her attention and she stops in front of it. It sells the three-colour sweet dumplings. Would there be a time when she sees this dessert and not think of_ him _? Just looking at the little sugary mochi balls she feels transported to one of the million times she spent with Itachi eating similar sweets. She can even_ feel _his presence close by as she closes her eyes. A trick of her mind, she thinks as she stops herself from turning around. It would be a disappointment anyway, he's not there, he's gone, never to see him again._

 _The chakra signature of Kuro has her straightening her back. She forces all the emotions running inside her into a corner somewhere deep inside her. Pretending to not know that the Sand's captain is approaching her she continues to look at the food display. When he reaches her, he places a hand on her lower back and she turns to him with the most dazzling smile she can muster. It appears to work well because it causes some sort of spark in his eyes and then he seems to be unable to lower his face and kiss her in broad daylight with people passing by. The kiss feels soft in her lips. However, it doesn't make her feel anything. Not wanting her face to show her true emotions, she smiles at him with bright eyes when he pulls back._

 _She hears a loud noise across the road, as if someone has dropped something heavy on the floor. She looks past Kuro and finds one of the vendors picking one of the large ceramic containers with a confused look on his face. Has someone trip on the container and run away before picking it back up?_

 _"Shall we head to my house? I'll make you lunch." Kuro asks her tenderly, bringing her attention to him._

 _"Yes, of course." She answers before they start walking away._

 _Shisui in disguise has witnessed the encounter between Misaki and Kuro from a few shops away while pretending to browse through the shop's book material. The smile that Misaki has gifted Kuro has left him with wide eyes and his mouth agape. He's never seen her smiling like that, those kind of smiles were always reserved for Itachi. No one else, not even him, had been on the receiving end of that dazzling smile. Misaki has not detected Itachi's presence for some strange reason. He had been standing across the road from her, watching her smile and kiss another man before getting furious and storming off past the shop behind him. He doesn't understand why that would irate him, he was the one that left her._

 _Why would she smile like that at Kuro? She only had to pretend to like the Stone shinobi or has she developed feelings for the guy? She knows the rules of this kind of missions: never get attached to the target as emotions would cause havoc on the assignment. No… Misaki is just playing her part. He tells himself in an attempt to convince his brain that it was just an act._

"Shisui?" Kakashi asks and it seems like it hasn't been the first time.

"Sorry, Kakashi. Let's go home as Minato instructed." Shisui tells him as he starts walking. Kakashi follows him. Naruto turns around, sensing them after a few minutes since they had been walking slow.

"Hey guys! Sakura and I were heading to Ichiraku's for some ramen. Would you like to join us?" Naruto asks them.

"Sounds good." Kakashi replies. As he's about to also agree, the familiar cry of a child has him turning to his right where he sees Mikoto holding the crying infant.

"Shisui, so glad you're back!" Mikoto, Sasuke and Itachi's mother, says while approaching him.

He looks at the the upset child in Mikoto's arms. "We've just returned. Is something wrong?" he asks worried. Shusui reaches out for the kid who after a quick glance at him stops weeping altogether. A small sob escape his little mouth before he starts laughing as Shisui moves him up and down with a wide smile on his face.

"Not anymore. He's been upset for the last few hours. He hasn't been sleeping well but I can see know that he was missing you. I'm glad he has calmed down, I was getting concerned." She answers smiling.

"Is that your son, Shisui?" Sakura asks him as she walks closer and pats the kid on his soft hair.

"He's Misaki's" He answers distractedly. Sakura's hand freezes mid stroke and looks at the child closely with a shocked expression on her face. "What is it?" Shisui asks her, his attention on her noticing that she's mulling over something.

"He's only- he's what, four-five years old?" She asked. "Well, it's still him, that's for sure." She murmurs.

"Yes. Why are you asking, Sakura?" Shisui queried with narrowed eyes.

"Hm, you said he's Misaki's but even if he's not your biological son wouldn't you consider him yours if you're raising him with her?"

"Raising him, with her? What are you talking about?"

"Back when you were arguing with Itachi, you said- I thought you and Misaki…" She starts answering but then turns to look at Naruto who seems just as confused.

"Oh, that. I might have misled Itachi on purpose."

"What?" Naruto yells. "You misled all of us, you said Misaki belonged to your side!" He adds.

"Well, I wasn't lying. She's part of my team. Our team used to be three with Itachi but for the last years it has always been Misaki and me. It will never be the three of us together, but neither will be a team consisting in Misaki and Itachi. That's why I said that, I didn't like the way Itachi had taken hold of Misaki like they were back to being a team."

"Ah, so you two are not together then?" Naruto asks and Shisui lets a loud laughter out of his mouth, making Naruto frown.

"I thought that was a low blow. Don't you think you went a bit too far with Itachi, Shisui? It's not like something you would normally do." Kakashi asks and Shisui stops laughing.

"It was. But he deserved it. It's his fault for even believing it." He answers looking at Kakashi and then turns to face Naruto. "Misaki is my family. She's like a sister to me, she always was but Itachi's twisted mind failed to see that and would confront her if he saw us playing around like we always had. The jealous idiot thought that she would cheat on him after he did just that to her. But she's not like him, she would never betray the person she loves."


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

The starry sky above theirs heads was free a clouds as they move towards their home village and help the Hokage against the masked man as requested. They had left the Akatsuki's lair as soon as Deidara informed them of the urgent request from the Fifth. Itachi had not yet fully healed so she looked at him worried since they've been running non stop for over half a day. It was only yesterday that he had fought against Shisui and although his injuries had been healed he hadn't recovered completely. Who was this mysterious masked man? It had to be someone very powerful if the Hokage, who's supposed to be one of the strongest shinobi was requesting the help of the entire Akatsuki group.

"We're here." Itachi announced.

Misaki looked around her, unable to understand what she was seeing. The whole area was completely destroyed, buildings and trees seemed to had been blown away leaving dust and ashes in their place. This was not a village but the remains of an aftermath. "Wh- what is this?" She asked.

"We might be too late. Misaki, can you sense Naruto?"

She closed her eyes and concentrated in locating a familiar chakra. She quickly identified the five shinobi they faced only a day ago. Two of them were in a different location from the other three, Sakura and Naruto, she realised. The other three were located not far away, but alive, she thought with relief. A shiver run down her back, there was something about this place that made her feel uneasy. Or maybe it was the strange presences she was also sensing from Naruto's position. "Yes, he's East from this location. Let's go!" She ordered just before running towards Naruto.

They quickly located Naruto in the middle of a lake facing a man with a mask covering his face. It was the one they had come to help the Konoha's shinobi fight against. He had dark hair and his body was covered in a dark grey robe with a fur collar. Naruto was holding a kunai on his right hand and he was now wearing a white cape with 'Fourth Hokage' written on its back. He seemed to be at disadvantage as the masked man attacked him and Naruto didn't seem to be able to counter attack. He was simply taking on a defensive stance.

The mysterious man summoned nine different beasts and they all went to attack the blond shinobi. When Naruto didn't seem to be able to move, Sasori attached his chakra threads to him and pull him away from the line of fire. As he looked up to where he had been pulled from his shocked expression quickly turned to anger when he realised he was facing the Akatsuki. "I see you you have brought reinforcements as well." He spat out, he seemed to think they were here in alliance with the masked man.

"Stop! We have come here to help you with the request of Lady Hokage." Itachi explained and Naruto was surprised at the revelation. "Huh?" Was all he could say.

"We were hired to back you up so you could have a fighting chance against the 'Masked Man'." Deidara added before he jumped towards the water.

The rest of the members followed him and began their attack towards the strange looking beasts. Naruto was staring at Itachi who hadn't yet moved.

"Naruto." Misaki called out to him. He hadn't noticed her as his focus had been on Itachi.

"Misaki? I don't understand. The Akatsuki is on our side?" He asked.

"Yes, Naruto. They'll deal with those beasts, you do what you had to do to defeat the Masked Man." She looked up where she could sense an unmoving Sakura. She was tied up between two poles with some sort of jutsu. Itachi quickly jumped up towards her location. "We'll take care of Sakura, don't worry." Misaki added.

Naruto gave her a quick nod before he went running after the enemy. She followed after Itachi and found her standing next to Sakura, who was now free from the bonds that were keeping her there. She was kneeling on the floor. The two of them were facing another man in an orange mask that only showed his right eye, only his whole body seemed to be almost see through.

"... I never thought the Hokage would send the Akatsuki." He was saying as she reached Sakura's side, just behind Itachi. She didn't have time to ponder about this new enemy's appearance as she felt an agonising pain in her chest, like someone had just hit her with an enormous force. Her heart beat once and stopped for a few seconds as the pain froze her on the spot. A memory of this masked man flashed before her eyes, only it was his real form not the after image they were facing.

 _"You're mine." The man standing right in front of Kakashi said using a visual jutsu with his eye which started to absorb everything around him. Panic took over Misaki as Kakashi seemed unable to do anything against it. She teleported before Tobi and encountered a Sharingan just as the jutsu suddenly stopped. "Teleportation? I guess I underestimated you." He said to her._

 _Tobi uses Kamui on her, a jutsu she has seen Kakashi use, where he was able to send an object to different dimension. Misaki feels the strong pull initiated on her eyes as she feels her body frozen into place, she concentrates all her chakra there in an attempt to stop it. It causes a stinging pain around her temples but the pull is broken, surprising the masked man. Misaki falls on her knees as her chakra has been completely depleted._

 _"Well, that's a first." Tobi says in a deep and serious voice. "I never imagine the Sharingan could be overpowered by someone who's not an Uchiha."_

"T- Tobi." Misaki almost whispered. She caught sight of Itachi's back tensing ever so slightly as he heard her call the mysterious man's name.

"From your appearance I wouldn't expect physical attacks to be of any use against you. However, I have another methods." Itachi said to their opponent.

"Itachi Uchiha and the girl who can counter the Uchiha's most powerful weapon. You two are a nuisance."

The enemy said before he disappeared before their eyes. He didn't move to another location, Misaki noticed as his presence was nowhere to be found.

Misaki turned to Sakura and held her arm to help her stand up. "Are you-" She started to ask when another wave of memories invaded not only her mind but her whole body seemed to remember. It was a continuation of the previous flash where she could see Sakura staring at one of the Akatsuki's members who had just appeared next to Tobi.

 _"What? Sasuke killed his brother? Itachi is dead?" Sakura voices her thoughts as both Akatsuki's members disappear in a blink of an eye. Misaki's heart seems to stop as a ringing noise seems to muffle everything around her. As her heart resumes beating, every beat feels like a serrated knife twisting inside her chest. Her brain is about to give out due to the overload of pain signals travelling through her body when Kakashi's face come into her line of vision, subduing some of the pain away._

 _"There's no time to waste. We need to find Sasuke before they do. Which way Misaki?" He asks her._

"Misaki sensei?" Sakura's voice called out to her. Blinking a few times, Misaki is able to recover her vision and finds Sakura standing in front of her with a concerned look on her face while holding her hand.

"Misaki?" Itachi spoke from her right. Her breathing falter as her eyes widen before she turned to look at him. "Did you know him? Is his name Tobi?" He asked confused at the look on her face.

She had spent the last days with him but now she could see him with completely different eyes. In her world, Itachi had died at the hands of his younger brother, Sasuke, who wanted to avenge his entire clan. The clan that Itachi had killed singled handed. The clan, including the brother's parents, that he annihilated in order to protect the whole village and avoid another war between shinobis.

The last memory she had recovered helped her remember that. However, she was sure there was a lot more that she couldn't yet recall.

"What is it? What have you remember?" Itachi asked again, looking between her face and her left hand that was in Sakura's hold.

Misaki gulped before raising her other arm slowly towards Itachi's face. For a moment he pulled back slightly but, when he realised what she was trying to do, he stopped himself and waited for her hand to reach him. "You remembered something when Shisui touched you while still in contact with the Naruto from _your_ world, didn't you?" He asked her. She nodded once and cupped the left side of his face with her right hand.

"I don't think that's…" Sakura started to say.

She was surprised to say the least at what happened next. Expecting a series of memories as in previous instances where she recovered a string of different memories, she wasn't ready to handle the waves of sensations that came crashing down on her. If felt like a rollercoaster, going from extreme love, warmth and happiness to complete devastation, sorrow and despair. And all those feelings came from loving the man in front of her.

Misaki had discovered all of these with Itachi. They had loved each other to the point that they have become each other's life line and then she had lost him not only once, when he left the village after killing the Uchiha clan, but twice, after the truth about his actions were revealed and they had met briefly. At that time she had realised that her feelings for him weren't entirely gone as they shared a bond so strong that even years later they both still love each other.

However, Sasuke then managed to attain the revenge he desperately seeked and ended his life. She knew the truth about Itachi then, however she wasn't fast enough to get to Sasuke and stop him. Her world had crumbled again. The reminder of her past with Itachi seemed to reopen a wound that she wasn't aware that was there until that moment, it crushed her heart so strong that her knees weakened and her eyes filled with tears that she couldn't stop for falling.

He wasn't the first person he care about to die. Her brothers, her mother, father and comrades' death were part of her life. Seeing so many loved ones lose their life might make some people think that they can be somehow prepared to face the next death to come along. This is far from reality. Nothing can heal the loss of the person you love most, the one you cherish and treasure. There is no helpfulness, no strength that can heal that sorrow.

"... a good idea." Sakura finished her sentence. It had only been a second but the feelings of the last fifteen years or so were now embedded in every fiber of her being. She felt every single cell of her skin alive, each and every single one remembered the touch of the man she had loved. His touch run so much deeper and all the way to her heart along with an invisible chain of thorns surrounding her heart. With each heartbeat the thorns prodded deeper.

"Itachi…" she breathed in a broken voice. He instantly knew she had recovered the memories of them together. His pupils dilated slightly. Relief showed in his eyes followed by sadness. He also realised that in the other world he was no longer there with her.

A smile appeared on his face, surprising her. "I'm glad we got to be together one more time." He said. She was as well, it felt like someone had granted her an impossible wish.

"Sakura, did this world offer you something you didn't have before?" Misaki asked the young kunoichi.

"Yes, my dreams or what I thought I really wanted came true, only I'm missing what I had in our world. I want to return and Naruto does too, even if it means losing both Kushina and Minato because of what his parents were and what they represented." She answered.

"This might be a jutsu that gives you what your heart desires to lure you to stay here forever. But this world is not real and as much as I would like to stay here with Itachi something tells me that I must return as well." Misaki said fixing her eyes on Sakura. The pink haired girl gulped but her eyes were still on her. They were letting her know that something important was waiting for her.

* * *

 _Note: I hope you guys are enjoying the story! I'm almost done so the next update will probably be the final chapters, so hopefully you're as excited as I am!  
Please also be aware that the last updates were 2 chapters in one go, so if you've only been reading the last chapter then you've missed the other one :)  
Misa._


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

The sound of an incoming attack in the form of fire had Itachi, Misaki and Sakura turning to find a tail beast, one that could fly, heading straight to them. Itachi was the first to react, grabbing Sakura and jumping out of the line of attack just as Misaki moved in the opposite side.

Since they were standing by the bridge over the lake they ended up free falling towards the water. The beast followed after Itachi and Sakura but before he could reach them, Misaki teleported on top of it, delivering a powerful punch with her left hand. The flying beast was quick to react, turning upside down to throw her off balance. As she was once again falling towards the water, the beast quickly change course and trapped Misaki's body with its monster beak before she could make a move out of its way.

The beast started flying up almost vertically while Misaki tried to break out of its hold but as they were reaching a high altitude the air became too thin and she found it hard to breath and gather her strength due to the lack of oxygen. The beast kept on raising and she felt the pressure on her internal organs to the point that they felt about to explode. The pressure seem to light the blood running through her veins in fire. The effects appeared to also have an effect on the flying beast at it suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving her free of the beast's hold.

Misaki started free falling again, as she looked down she noticed that she was at an altitude she couldn't believe was possible. The whole village looked like a tiny dot from where she was. She had to find a way to stop her fall, otherwise she will fall to her sure death. However, her eyes felt heavy and she couldn't will her oxygen-deprived brain to think of her options. Just as she was about to stop fighting, she noticed the cuts on her left arm from struggling against the beast's beak. Without really thinking what she was doing, she spread some of the blood on the inside of her arm, over the tattoo representing an eagle and its feathers. When she did so she felt something running through her body, her chakra had been activated. With one last effort she concentrated her chakra in her hand and release it before her eyes finally closed.

Her mind seemed to play tricks on her as she felt something soft and warm beneath her. The cold strong wind seemed to diminished and the air started to become breathable when the muffled sound of a crying eagle reached her ears. Second after second she felt some of her consciousness return to her. When she eventually managed to open her eyes she realised that she was lying on top of gigantic eagle. Its brown wings extended on at least a wingspan of ten metres. They were almost back to where she started when another flying beast dove into it, crashing into the eagle's body with such a strong force that threw Misaki off its back and towards the rocky mountain. Misaki watched with a blurry mind as the wall of rocks were closer and closer when someone caught her body in strong arms before she reached them.

Looking up at the person who was holding her up she noted Shisui's profile. "Shisui." She whispered too low for him to hear her. Shisui landed on the water but didn't let go of her. Looking down at her he seemed to analyse the state of her body with his Sharingan. When his eyes met hers, he smiled.

"You're going to be fine, Misaki. Try not to move now, there's some internal bleeding and your chakra levels are too low. Sakura, can you heal her?" He asked Sakura who moved to their side and started applying medical ninjutsu on Misaki without skipping a beat.

Misaki stared at him. She didn't need to recover her memories with him because they were all there. The thing about memories? They store in your brain. Even after a lifetime thinking you're fine, something triggers your memory and all of a sudden you want to curl on the floor from the pain. She was in the arms of the man she met as a kid, the one that had taught her how to be a ninja, the person who took care of her and was there for her, always. He had become her mentor, her teacher, her friend, her brother. He was the person who had helped her become the person she wanted to be, the person who she was now. Without him she wouldn't have accomplished her dreams since her father had forbidden her to join the Ninja Academy, the usual route to become a ninja.

"Shisui." She repeated throwing her arms around his neck and placing her nose on the nook of his neck, just under his chin. Her face fitted perfectly there. His scent instantly brought a familiar sense of warmth to her. She breathed him in like she had done many times when she was a child. Whenever she was in distress or in trouble or simply looking for some comfort, he had been there to make her feel better. However, she had lost Shisui when she was only thirteen, he had been torn from her side in a blink of an eye and the void he had filled since losing both her older brothers had been emptied once again, only that time the space felt like an abyss. The emptiness grew even larger when Itachi left the village some months after that.

Shisui felt the weight in the way she had called him. He leaned down and placed his lips over her hair, kissing her there tenderly. "It's okay…" he whispered as he rocked her gently, like a mother would do to her crying baby. As the thought entered her mind, she realised that silent tears were running down her face and onto his skin and clothes. Those were the tears that she didn't allow herself to shed when she found out Shisui was dead, but now, now there were no stopping them. A sob escaped her lips as she tried to get hold of herself only to make it worse.

Sakura stopped applying treatment and took a step back to let them have their moment when Itachi spoke.

"I can see it now." He began. Shisui's hold on her tightened as he looked at him, for the way his body felt in her arms, she knew this look was carrying some menace. "I-ta-chi." Shisui said in warning. Misaki wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand and looked at Itachi as well. When her eyes focused on Itachi's face, she realised his face was calm, like a heavy weight had just been taken off his shoulders.

"I can see how wrong I was to ever think that you two would develop any other feelings other than what you always shared." Itachi spoke as he maintain eye contact with Shisui. "I was corroded by guilt for my actions and instead of owning to my mistakes I projected them into the two of you." Shisui's hold loosened for a brief moment. "I can see how much you love her, Shisui, because the look on your face when you gaze at Misaki is the same my mother does when she looks at me or my brother, the same I feel when I watch Sasuke. I can't change the past but I hope one day you two would have it in your hearts to forgive me." Misaki gasped, Shisui gulped, taken aback. "And, yes. Misaki belongs to your side, she belongs in Konoha and not entangled with the likes of the Akatsuki… I-"

An explosion occurred from the side of the mountain that Naruto had run following after the Masked Man. They all looked up. It's power ended up changing the shape of the mountain's profile and leaving a colossal hole in the middle of it.

The tailed beast seemed to be summoned to the centre of it where they could see the enemy without his mask. It was Menma, the Naruto of this world. He looked exactly alike only his hair was black instead of blond and his eyes were filled of pure hatred. All nine beasts flew in unison to Menma's body and when they reached him, Misaki could feel the enemy's chakra growing rapidly, he was getting stronger and stronger by the second. How was that possible? When the last beast got into him, the concentration of chakra reached his highest point and suddenly the Nine Tails appeared before their eyes. A shudder run through her. She had seen this gigantic beast before many years ago on the day Naruto was born so she knew what her was capable of. They were no match to him.

"I'm the one he's after. Come on, get away from here!" Naruto yelled at them. Instead, Sakura called out to him already taking a step towards her friend. Itachi grabbed her wrist before she could go any further.

"No! Naruto needs our help!" Sakura tried reasoning with Itachi. "Fighting against the tail beast is outside our contract. We weren't paid to do this." Kakuzu said walking behind him.

The Nine Tails along with Menma started their attack the everything around them started crumbling down. Itachi glanced at Shisui who nodded in return and took Sakura away while Shisui followed after him with Misaki still on his arms.

"No! Wait! Sakura is right, we need to help Naruto somehow!" Misaki yelled while trying to break Shisui's hold. However, another Nine Tails came into view, this time it was Naruto's, and they began a fight between tailed beasts.

"This fight is out of our hands, Misaki. Have faith in Naruto, he'll be able to handle this." Shisui replied but let go of Misaki and she stood up next to him. They all watched the exchange of enormous blows with wide eyes, until Naruto was able to overpower Menma after a series of violent blows and attacks. Menma's unconscious form laid on the roof of one of the buildings while Naruto struggled to stand up at the clearing below it. As he looked up, Tobi appeared next to Menma.

"This fight has exceeded my expectations. I didn't imagined you would be able to bond with your tailed beast so well…" He said.

"Now I just have to take you down and go home!" Naruto replied.

"It seems that you still don't seem to understand the situation you're in." Tobi started staying, inserting his form inside Menma's body. "Because of the fight you've just been through, the seal of the Nine Tails has weakened to an unprecedented degree." He added as he took over Menma's body which added a Sharingan on Menma's right eye.

"Naruto! Don't look into his eye!" Misaki yelled at him. If Naruto's seal had indeed weakened as Tobi mentioned then it could be controlled by someone wielding a powerful Sharingan.

Shisui looked up at the dark sky. Misaki noticed the frown on his face and did the same, noticing the full moon tainted in red. "The Red Moon…" he said in deep thought. "Naruto! The Red Moon has appeared, it's the time of the prophecy, use the scroll!" He yelled.

Naruto took the scroll out of his pocket and began to unfold it when Menma suddenly appeared in front of him, cutting in half. As it broke, it left a gap and Naruto couldn't help but look into his Sharingan. "Forget everything!" Menma commanded, pulling Naruto into his Genjutsu who flat fell on the ground. "The Nine Tails is mine!"

The Nine Tails chakra started coming out of Naruto's body when Sakura jumped towards Tobi with a powerful kick and cracked the floor beneath him as he dodge it. Misaki took a step to follow after Sakura when someone grabbed her wrist. Turning around she found Itachi looking at her with a frown in his face.

"I'll be alright, Itachi." She said to him.

"I know. But it's hard to let you go…" Itachi told her, a pleading look in his searching eyes.

Misaki's strength falter for a moment, forcing her eyes closed and couldn't help but focus on the feel of Itachi's hand against her skin. Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes with resolution in her face. "Naruto and Sakura need my help. Either you help us or not, but we're taking him down so we can go home." As soon as Itachi let go of her wrist she run towards Naruto's side who was still on the floor with a lost look on his eyes.

"Naruto, get up!" She yelled at him, kneeling next to his unmoving body and shaking his shoulder slightly.

"I wiped his memory. He's not able to move anymore." Tobi declared while he fought against Sakura. Misaki's chakra raged inside her as she turned her face over her shoulder to look at the enemy.

"You bastard!" She yelled, appearing in an instant right in front of him and delivering a punch into his face. "How dare you play with our memories like they mean nothing! Do you think you can simply erase everything we had and shared with our loved ones during our whole lives? The good and the bad?" She added, throwing a right kick which he blocked with his left arm. Tobi threw a right straight punch towards her face but she side stepped to her left, using the momentum to grab his arm as she twisted on her axis. Gathering all the chakra she had left, which wasn't much, on her left hand, it became engulfed with flames which she used to hit him on the side of his body, sending him crashing onto the nearby wall.

Misaki stayed where she was, breathing hard. She had no chakra left and the injuries she acquired from her encounter with the flying beast which hadn't fully healed hurt so much that her body didn't seem to cooperate anymore with her will to go after the adversary. Her knees gave out, making her fall with her hands on the ground.

Sakura moved next to her and threw her shuriken against Tobi when he moved to attack them but he easily threw them off their track with his kunai, kicking Sakura into the air. Luckily, Naruto who seemed to have recovered his memories jumped to her rescue and caught her in midair.

"You still managed to get up?" Tobi asked.

"I will never forget!" He said while preparing a Rasengan. He run towards Tobi, jumping above him and delivering his attack on his back. The blow send them both in opposite sides, Naruto back to Misaki's side, Sakura running towards him to help him stand up while Menma didn't move.

Tobi's almost see-through form left Menma's body. He took out some sort of long metal chain, holding each end with his hands. "This time I will kill you all!" He threw the chain towards them as Sakura looked between Naruto and Misaki, realising that she didn't have enough time to get them out of the way.

Just as the metal rods were about to reach them, something flashed before their eyes followed by the noise of metal against metal. When her eyes focused on what was in front of her, she found herself looking at the backs of Minato and Kushina standing in a defensive stance and covering Naruto and Sakura, and the backs of Itachi and Shisui taking a similar position for her. Watching the two Uchiha side by side once more filled her heart with glee.

"How did you find us?" Naruto asked his parents.

"You picked Minato's kunai." Kushina answered him. Naruto took the kunai from his pocket and threw it at Tobi.

"Well, I guess this is fate. You can keep the Nine Tails for a little longer." Tobi replied while weapon travelled towards his face but when it was a mere inch from his eye, he disappeared into nothing, seeing that he couldn't outmatch all the shinobi between himself and his target.

"Who was that man?" Minato asked.

"The one behind all this. He's the one that brought us to this world and started the whole mess in the first place." Naruto answered.

A glow started to surround Sakura, Naruto and Misaki and at the same time Menma returned to his original form, his hair changing from black to blond. Kushina and Minato run towards her son but then they turned to look at Naruto.

Sakura gasped. "Naruto… Misaki sensei… this means…" She whispered. Naruto turned his back towards his parents, hiding the sadness in his face from them as Misaki watched him struggle. She knew how he was feeling, after all, he was returning to their world where both Kushina and Minato were no longer there.

"You're going back home, to where you belong." Itachi phrased on her left. Her breathing became ragged, this was goodbye, however, she didn't have the guts to turn and face him. It seemed to painful to bear. She, too, was about to return to a world where neither Itachi and Shisui were longer there.

"Thank you." Misaki spoke without turning. "Thank you, so much, for the last few days we've spent together. I wish we had more time, and I wish I knew from the beginning that this would be the final time I would've spend with you. But I'll treasure these moments. I'm so glad for all of them." She added with a broken voice.

Shisui moved into her line of vision, placing a feathery kiss on her forehead. "Be well, Misaki." He told her as a farewell and then turned to look to his right where she knew Itachi was watching. Behind Shisui, Misaki could see Naruto and Sakura already fading as they were transported back to their world. She made a fist with her right hand, there was an internal struggle within her, half of her wanted to turn and say her goodbyes to Itachi, the other couldn't. She lift her fist to place it over her mouth, in order to stop herself from crying when she realised her hand was already starting to fade as well. That was it, she was going back home.

Something pulled her left arm, her body crashing into a warm and strong body, the impact taking the breath out of her. The other hand wrapped around her lower back, forcing her body to arch into someone's chest. Her eyes widened, but before she could react, Itachi's mouth was on her. His lips on her weren't gentle, the passion behind them was laced with anger, like a person taking something as it belonged to him. Misaki kept her eyes open as Itachi's tongue invaded hers but when his tongue stroke hers, the weight of the pleasure force her to close her eyes in bliss. As quickly as it all started, Itachi stopped when the arm on her back seemed to pass her body because Misaki's torso faded. Placing his closed lips firmly over hers, he cupped her face with both hands and leaned back. They both opened their eyes at the same time, Misaki finding Itachi's Sharingan activated.

"I understand why you wouldn't want to say your goodbyes to me. I know it's too painful for you, I know it hurts you when you see me, but _I_ needed it. I can't just let you go without the feel of your kiss against my lips one more time, Misaki. I hope whoever is waiting for you in your world is taking good care of you. Now-" Itachi's tone grew heavy, sending a force into her with his Sharingan. "Now, you will _forget_ …"

 _What? What did he just say?_ Misaki thought. The intensity of the glow surrounding her grew to the point of blinding. Her mind felt heavy, the sounds around her growing faint. A male voice sounded muffled when he said something. "Why did you do that?" She'll break out of it." Misaki thought she heard. "No, she won't, she can't break out of a genjutsu that she can't remember happening…" another voice said.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

 _~ Seven years ago. Naruto's world ~_

"Itachi, what are you going here?" Misaki asked him, instantly recognizing Itachi's back on a high tree branch near the Ninja Academy. She jumped to a branch just behind him and gave a quick glance at what he was observing, finding Sasuke below working on his shuriken throw on his own. Even though it was still day, the sun was starting to set and all the other students had gone home already.

Itachi bowed his head then turned his face slightly with his eyes closed. "You found me, huh?" He asked.

"I just happened to notice you by chance, it wasn't like I was searching for you. I don't know why you've been avoiding me for the last few days but I didn't want to bother you if wanted some space. However, I think we should talk about the other day… I know it was sudden and I understand if you regret it but-"

"It has nothing to do with you, Misaki." Itachi interrupted her.

"Then why wou-"

"Don't follow me…" He ordered in a stern voice but then his tone softened. "Please. There's something I must do and I can't have you by my side anymore. You'll understand." He told her before his body turned into several black crows, leaving Misaki there on her own, her mouth slightly open.

 _Why won't you look me in the eye Itachi? What happened to you? For the last few months you've been acting so strange. I thought the old you finally returned the other day. We spent the day together like old times, and yet, you've distanced yourself even more than before. What do you have to do that's so important that you can just leave what we had so easily?_ Misaki thought with her hand over her chest in a fist.

She stood in that tree, unconsciously watching Sasuke train, as her mind kept searching for a reason that would turn Itachi like that, until she realised that it was night already. Jumping down the branch she approached Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke, why are you still training so late?" Misaki asked the young boy. Sasuke stopped mid throw and turned to look at her.

"Oh, hi big sis." Sasuke noticed the street lamp behind Misaki's. "Oh, no! I didn't realise it was that late. I bet mom has already prepared dinner. She'll be upset I'm not home yet. I'll see you later Misaki!" Sasuke yelled as he started running home. Misaki watched his running form when a chilling breeze blew all around her, a frightening shiver running through her body. _What was that unnerving feeling?_ She thought before turning to go to a nearby food stalls to get some dinner.

A while later, she was finishing her bowl of ramen when she noticed a commotion outside. Peeking her head out she noticed several shinobi and a few ANBU running in the streets and over the roof towards… _The Uchiha compound_ , she thought, her eyes widening. Using her sensory mode she worked on locating little Sasuke first, remembering the chill she felt when he left, and realised that Sasuke's chakra was very faint so she quickly moved to his location.

When she finally reached the entrance to the Uchiha compound she spotted an ANBU carrying Sasuke's body, the Third Hokage walking behind them with a grim expression on his face.

"Sasuke!" She yelled, reaching for him. "Why is he unconscious, Lord Third? What's happened? Why is everyone running here in alert?"

"Misaki." The Hokage started. "Sasuke is fine, my men are taking him to the hospital just to check. This area has been closed off, so you shouldn't be here. We're dealing with a situation at the moment."

"What kind of situation? And where's Itachi?" At the mention of Itachi's name, the Hokage closed his eyes as he had been slapped on the face but stood silent. "Sir?" Misaki asked again, feeling uneasy.

"Itachi is the reason we're having this situation. He has turned against the village and killed his entire clan."

"W- what-" she gulped, feeling her throat dry. "That's… impossible. He would never do such thing. You had this all wrong, he's not-"

"Misaki, that's enough. Either accompany the ANBU escort to the hospital or go home. You can't get involved in this." Lord Third ordered, when he noticed her looking to up to her side where she surely was pinpointing Itachi's location he reached out to grab her wrist. "You will not go after him, it's too dangerous." He added.

She shaked her arm to lose the Hokage's hold. "No. You're wrong." She said before making the hand sign to teleport where she could sense Itachi which wasn't too far from where they were.

Misaki appeared on the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in the village, from there her vision could reach almost every spot within the small town. Itachi was crouched on the ledge of the roof, his back to her. "Tell me the Hokage is wrong, Itachi." She commanded. But Itachi didn't move a muscle. His eyes were fixed on the ANBU carrying Sasuke just passing close by on his way to the hospital.

"He's not." He said after a long moment, making her gasp loudly.

"That can't be true, you're lying! I know you, your ultimate goal has always been to protect Konoha. There's no way you would-"

"You're wrong." He interjected.

"No..." She said but she had lost the strength in her voice. "No…" She added a bit louder, her breathing ragged.

"Yes. I wanted to test my power. I wanted to show everyone that I'm the strongest Uchiha. I'm leaving the village so go home and stop following me."

 _No…_ She repeated the mantra in her head. _It can't be. Everybody already knows he's the most skilled Uchiha, specially after Shisui… did he really kill him then? For the same purpose? Why would he go to that extreme?_ Misaki run towards Itachi until her body collided with his back, wrapping her arms around him and trapping his arms under hers. She sensed his body tense under his ANBU uniform. "Stop lying!" She yelled. Itachi easily broke the hold she had and took a step forward, away from her.

"Misaki, stop being a nuisance." He said without turning, his words causing a stinging pain in her chest. "I need to gain more power, I can't stay in this village playing the happy family, holding hands with you and spending the evenings eating sweet dumplings by the lake. I'm going to-"

"Enough! Would you look at me already! If this is really it, at least have the decency to look me in the eye!" She yelled, grabbing Itachi's left hand and pulling it towards her, the force of the movement forcing Itachi to turn around and face her. However, as he did, Misaki noticed that his eyes were bright with unshed tears and torment was written all over his face. He didn't want to look at her because he knew she would see past his lies, she would see the agony and sorrow inside of him. Because now, as she was glancing into his eyes, she could perfectly feel the throbbing pain in his core as it was hers.

She stared at him questionly, a silent conversation going on between the two of them. She wanted to know why did he do what he did but Itachi's eyes were pleading her to drop the matter. Whatever it was, he couldn't share it with her. Misaki placed her hands on the sides of his face and the strength seemed to fade from his body. He leaned his face down, stopping when his forehead reached hers, the tears silently falling over her.

"I really wanted to do a clean cut. But it seems I'm not strong enough to let go of you so easily." Itachi told her.

"You don't have to let go of me at all." She said in a calmed voice but in this instance she felt like screaming at the top of her lungs at the turn of events. What was the reason for things going this way? Was it because there was a bigger plan that she couldn't see? A bigger destiny she could have never possibly imagine for themselves?

"I do." He said before lifting his face and placing his lips over her mouth. If there was time to cry tears of joy -now would be it. Wherever the real Itachi had been hiding it was unknown to her, but he had finally come out of his hiding place. Misaki wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, not in a sweet kind of way but in a possessive way, as if trying to convey a message to him: that she wasn't letting go. Itachi tried slowing down the kiss but Misaki held onto his head so tight that he couldn't help but plunge his tongue and lose himself in the depths of her mouth. Misaki let out a moan, making him shiver. He was amazed that this girl's love wouldn't falter even after what he did.

Without breaking the kiss, Itachi placed his arms around her torso and moved them out of the rooftop onto a gazebo located in on one of the nearby parks. His body was plastered along hers as she leaned on one of the wooden pillars. The intensity of the kiss grew to a frenzy point. His mouth moved from her lips to the skin just under her ear then trailed down her neck. Misaki felt Itachi's pain mixed the desire, the urgency of his hands removing their clothes was telling her that this was his goodbye. But she wasn't going to let him go as much as he wanted it, she told herself.

When he slid inside her, slowly at first, their bodies fit so perfectly that seemed surreal. Her leg wrapped around his waist. His body flared to life as her breasts pressed against his chest. Groaning in frustration, Itachi moved in and out of her at a snail's pace which only added to her wild excitement. Every moment was pure torture and pleasure all wrapped into one. When she couldn't take it anymore she dug her hands into his back, causing him to arch up, rocking hard against her body and taking her over the edge along with him...

When her erratic breathing went back to normal, Itachi's hands moved to the side of her neck, caressing her smooth skin and tugging her even closer to his lips until their mouths were a breath apart. "My life is yours, Misaki. So I'll live for your sake. You have my heart in your hands. It stores the essence of everything I am. You'll enjoy life for me as I become nothing." Itachi's last words were clipped as if all his joy had just been sucked out of him.

Her breathing picked up again. "What? No." Itachi tried to moved away from her but she held him firmly. "Whatever you have to do and wherever you have to go, I'm coming with you." She said closing her eyes and placing her face against his neck.

"Look at me." He commanded. When she did she found his Sharingan activated.

"Your Sharingan doesn't work on me…" She started saying but Itachi ignored her.

"You won't remember today's events." _I will break this genjutsu_. She told herself. "You won't remember meeting me today at the Academy or just know. You will go home, sleep and wake up tomorrow as it was today. When you learn about what I've done you'll despise me as everyone else. You won't search for me or follow me and you'll stay in this village where it's safe."

 _I will break out of this. I will. I must remember._ She repeated in her head but when Itachi's final command was to close her eyes, she did and she felt the ground fell beneath her. Drowing. She felt like drowning. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, her heart felt like it stopped. She tried to suck in some air but her mouth couldn't grasp any air… Her body started to fall backwards when she felt everything around her fade into nothing.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

Her back hit the ground, her eyes opened and she gasped as she felt the pain of the impact.

"Misaki sensei? Are you alright?" Someone far away called out to her. Misaki turned to her left, finding Sakura next to her looking concerned. "Can you hear me?" She asked again, only this time the volume of her voice seemed to grow louder. It had been her calling before although her voice sounded so distant a moment ago.

"Sakura?" She asked while sitting up. Looking around she recognized the children's playing ground. It was dark, probably deep into the night. Naruto was standing behind Sakura, also looking worried. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"We did it Misaki sensei! We're back in our world." Naruto answered her.

"Back in- what are you talking about?" She asked him.

"Huh?" Was Naruto's reply. "I mean, we-" He started to add but Sakura lifted her open hand, stopping Naruto from saying more.

"What is the last thing you remember, sensei?" Sakura asked her.

"Err, well, it was daytime for starters, and I was looking for… some medicinal herb for Lady Tsunade and then… and now it's night time. What's going on?" She stood up and looked at both of them.

"Maybe it's best if she doesn't remember it all…" Sakura whispered towards Naruto, but she heard it.

"Hey, what are you to hiding from me?" She asked, getting her face closer to Sakura.

Sakura put her hands up in front of her, an awkward smile on her face. "I- I think it's best if we go and report to the Hokage straight away. Please don't get mad at us, Misaki sensei. It's just a very long story."

Naruto, Sakura and Misaki entered the Hokage's building. All the way there, Naruto and Sakura had been exchanging glances between them before looking back at her. It was driving her mad, they knew something she didn't and it didn't bode well with her. What could have she done in the last few hours that made them act like that?

They walked up the four floors of stairs and turned to the corridor that lead to the Hokage's office when they bumped into Kakashi.

"Kakashi sensei!" Both Naruto and Sakura exclaimed, their bodies tensed up before glancing back at her.

"Hey. Naruto, where have you been? I've been looking for you all day." Kakashi asked.

"It's a long story, we were just on our way to granny Tsunade to explain." Naruto replied. "Did you just come out of her office?"

"Yes…" Kakashi answered sounding uncertain. "You appear to be better, Sakura." He told her, that statement seemed to throw Sakura off but before she could ask, Kakashi looked up to meet Misaki's eyes. "Misaki." He said in a strange tone that made her frown. She walked towards him but with each step Kakashi seemed to grow wary. Misaki narrowed her eyes on him.

"Why are you acting strange, Kakashi? Have you been up to something?" She asked him. The question seemed to take him by surprise. His eye widened and then he looked at her differently, moving to place his hands on her shoulders, a smile spreading behind his mask.

"When was our first mission together, Misaki?" He asked.

"Three years ago on my birthday… why do you ask?"

"Ah, I'm glad you're back to your old self. All day you've been acting strange. I was scared to come close to you, when I did this morning… you pounded me real good." He answered.

"Huh?" She and Naruto utter at the same time. "What do you mean all day? Misaki has been with us all this time." Naruto claimed. Now it was Kakashi's turn to look surprised.

"Us? What do _you_ mean, Naruto? Sakura and Misaki been here all along. I mean, Sakura had a fall and she's been suffering from amnesia. Ino has been taking her around the village hoping to trigger her memories back. And Misaki, she- she didn't seem herself, Lady Tsunade said she was suffering from selective amnesia because she seemed to have a loss of certain parts of her memory. We couldn't find out how it happened. This morning she was fine, left to see the Hokage and when I saw her a few hours later, she seemed spaced out. She didn't remember me, she knew who I was but that was the extent of it.

" _I_ was here?" Sakura asked her sensei. "Oh- ah... I see. She must've been the Sakura from _that_ world."

"I don't understand." Kakashi said flatly.

"Let's find the Hokage and explain the whole situation, but Kakashi sensei, the Sakura and Misaki sensei that you've seen for the last day were from the alternate world us three ended up after Madara sent us there with one of his Genjutsus. It seems the time-space continuum was different between the two worlds, because we spend three days over there." Sakura explained and Kakashi exhaled loudly.

"I see… that's a relief, and here I was thinking I did something wrong." He said turning to look at Misaki with a closed eye smile.

Misaki narrowed her eyes on him. "Why were you beaten up, Kakashi?" She asked him.

"Ha…" Kakashi scratched the back of his head while moving quickly to open the Hokage's office. "Nothing, nothing. It was all a misunderstanding."

Naruto chuckled. "Such a shame I missed that, I can picture Kakashi sensei flat on a wall from one of Misaki sensei's punch!"

"It wasn't fun at all…" Kakashi murmured when she entered Lady Tsunade's office and walked past him.

After Sakura and Naruto explained the events of the last three days, Kakashi was first to leave the office to arrange extra ANBU patrol around the outskirts of the village. The Hokage was worried because the enemy had been able pass the barrier jutsu surrounding Konoha and entered the village without anyone noticing.

Naruto opened the door to leave, Misaki on his heels, but turned around when he noticed that Sakura wasn't following them.

"I'll follow you guys in a minute. I just need to speak with Lady Tsunade about a few more details…" Sakura explained.

They left left the office and closed the door behind them. "I'm guessing Sakura is telling the Hokage whatever you two are hiding from me, isn't it?" She asked him.

"Ah, Misaki sensei. That was Sakura's idea. I can see why she thinks it's best because… some people might end up hurting, even if it wasn't intentionally. We're only looking out for you." Naruto answered.

"I see. I won't force you to tell me the truth. I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that telling me the truth might be bittersweet anyway." Misaki said as she walked next to Naruto in the busy roads of the village. She noticed Naruto focusing on parents playing with their kids. "So… you got to spend some time with Minato and Kushina, huh? I wish I could remember these last few days with them. The little time I got to spend with them before you were born, well, I think I knew from the moment I met them that they were amazing people."

"Oh, so you knew them?" Naruto asked as he stopped walking.

"Yeah, just briefly. But Minato became my inspiration. I wanted to be as fast as him, that's why I worked so hard with Shisui, I wanted to be like your father."

"He _was_ fast, wasn't him?"

"The fastest of all shinobi." Misaki answered smiling at him. "You should be proud."

"I am. The dream I had all my life, to have my parents waiting for me, welcoming me back home, spending time with them while having meals… as much as I hate that Madara, I can't help by feel grateful for the opportunity to have it all. Now I'm back here but I'm not sad or anything. The truth is, I have you, Iruka sensei, Kakashi sensei, my friends and comrades, you all are my family so I can never feel lonely anymore." Naruto declared, resuming walking with both hands in the back of his head, a wide smile on his face.

"Misaki sensei." Naruto said in a serious tone. "If you had one wish to spend a little time with someone you've lost, who would it be?"

"Hmm, without a doubt, it would be Itachi and Shisui." She answered, looking at Naruto in the eye.

"I know." He answered with a smile.

 ** _~ The End ~_**

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Note: Hi and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did writing it!

I would love if you guys leave me a comment, I'd love to know what was your favourite chapter/scene/fight/etc, if I made you laugh or cry, whether you like my OC, Misaki, if you would like more details about her or Itachi or Shisui (two of my favourite characters along with Kakashi, if you haven't noticed yet, hehe) anything really. Even an "I like it!" would suffice :)

If you're left wondering about some of the scenes and have not read **Misaki of the Leaf** , I recommend you read this and it might clear it up for you. You can find it on my profile or click here. At the beginning I mentioned that this story would be a part of **Misaki of the Leaf 2** but I got a bit too carried away and it turned out to be too long so it's going to be a stand alone story. Part 2 would probably link to this last chapter regarding Misaki of the other world in Konoha.

Anyway, enough rumbling! Thanks again and keep an eye for my next story which I'm working on already :)

Ja ne.

Misa xx


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